Options Market Update
Latest data shows BTC implied volatility (IV) holding around 54%, while ETH IV remains relatively elevated at around 73%. In traditional assets, gold volatility stands at approximately 42%, and crude oil volatility is around 95%. From a percentile perspective, although BTC and ETH IV have slightly declined, they still remain above the ~80th percentile, indicating that while expectations for extreme volatility driven by macro and geopolitical risks have somewhat eased, overall pricing remains at relatively high historical levels.
Over the past week, ETH options skew has stayed in negative territory. Key tenors (such as 7D/30D) declined from around -4%~-5% to -6%~-8%, with multiple sharp dips during the period, reaching a low near -10%. This reflects a notable increase in downside hedging demand, with puts consistently priced richer. Although there were brief rebounds to around -3%~-4%, they were not sustained. Overall, the skew has shifted lower, suggesting elevated tail-risk pricing and a cautious-to-bearish market sentiment.
In traditional options, crude oil options expiring on April 16 hold the largest open interest, with the underlying price around $100. In terms of flow, puts (3,721) significantly exceeded calls (2,763), indicating a preference for downside hedging. Put activity is mainly concentrated in the $70–$95 range, while call activity is concentrated in the $105–$150 range. The IV structure shows a right-skew, with higher implied volatility on higher strikes. Overall: defensive positioning dominates, while right-tail scenarios still carry a premium.
For gold, options expiring on April 2 have the largest open interest, with the underlying price around $4,500. Call volume (224) exceeds put volume (109), indicating a short-term bullish bias. Calls are concentrated in the $4,450–$4,700 range (with the most active around $4,650), while puts are more dispersed in the $4,300–$4,400 range. The IV structure exhibits a typical “smile,” with higher implied volatility on both tails, especially on the downside, suggesting that downside risks are still priced at a premium. Overall: bullish participation in trading, but with downside protection still in place.
Block Trade Structures in Options
In the past 24 hours, the largest block trades in the BTC and ETH options markets are as follows:
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BTC: Bought BTC-24APR26-90000-C and sold BTC-24APR26-83000-C, with a total volume of approximately 500 BTC and a net premium outlay of around $210,000.
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ETH: Bought ETH-10APR26-2250-C, with a total volume of approximately 10,000 ETH and a net premium outlay of around $330,000.
Options combination strategies can be executed using Gate’s combo order trading tool.
Gate has officially launched Gold and Crude Oil Options, marking a new era of multi-asset options trading. Building on support for 11 crypto asset options, the platform has introduced traditional asset underlyings for the first time, offering users more opportunities for cross-market volatility trading. The symbol for Gold options is XAUT, and for Crude Oil options is XTI. Amid rising global macro volatility, gold and oil — as core Commodity Assets — provide traders with new tools for volatility trading and risk management.
Options trading portal: https://www.gate.com/options/BTC_USDT
