Gate Research: BTC Implied Volatility Rises to the 81st Percentile Over the Past Year, with Put Spread Strategies Dominating the Options Market

Options Market Dynamics

Latest data show that BTC implied volatility (IV) has risen to 50.42%, while ETH IV has climbed to 70.92%. BTC IV now stands at approximately the 81.7th percentile of its past-year range, indicating a clear increase in the options market’s expectations for short-term price fluctuations.

Over the past week, the 25-delta skew for both BTC and ETH has generally remained in negative territory, with the short end steepening noticeably. This suggests rising short-term hedging demand and greater sensitivity to downside volatility. Meanwhile, the mid- to long-term structure remains relatively stable, implying cautious sentiment rather than a decisively bearish outlook. Overall, the market appears more inclined toward short-term defense while waiting for clearer directional signals.

This week, BTC realized volatility (RV) has continued to rise. Although short-term ATM implied volatility has also moved higher, the magnitude of the increase has been relatively limited. As a result, the volatility risk premium (VRP) has been negative for most of the time, indicating that the options market remains conservative in pricing both realized and potential volatility. Overall, the market is transitioning from a low-volatility environment to a higher-volatility phase, with intensified short-term price swings and further room for implied volatility to move higher.

Block Trade Structure

Over the past 24 hours in the BTC and ETH options markets, block trades have been dominated by put spread strategies. The largest block trades are as follows:

• BTC: Buy BTC-27MAR26-75000-P and sell BTC-27MAR26-80000-P, with a total volume of approximately 1,500 BTC and net premium income of about USD 370,000.
• ETH: Buy ETH-27FEB26-1800-P and sell ETH-27FEB26-1500-P, with a total volume of approximately 15,000 ETH and a net premium outlay of about USD 320,000.

Options portfolio strategies can be traded using the combination order strategy tool launched on the Gate platform.

Platform Update

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