Bitcoin’s options market has turned noticeably more defensive over the past month. The average put-to-call open interest ratio climbed to 0.77 and peaked at 0.84, marking the highest readings since China’s mining ban in June 2021. Among comparable observations since mid-2019, the current level sits in the 91st percentile, pointing to stronger demand for downside protection.
Put premiums stay elevated even as overall volatility cools
Total premiums paid for Bitcoin puts reached about $685 million during the month. That was down 24% from the previous period, but still above most readings recorded in 2025. Relative to spot trading volume, put premiums rose to a record 4 basis points, roughly three times the rate seen after the Terra/Luna collapse in mid-2022. Call premiums fell to around $562 million, a decline of 12%, reinforcing the preference for defensive positioning.
At the same time, total options open interest increased 3% to $33.4 billion. Futures funding rates stayed muted at 2.7%, while realized volatility dropped from 80 to 50. That combination matters: price swings have eased, yet traders are still paying up for protection against a downside move.
VanEck points to rare skew levels and past rebound patterns
VanEck’s analysis found that the ratio of put to call premiums paid stood at 2.0 over the 30-day period ending March 3, 2026. Implied volatility for puts averaged 66, which was 16 points above realized volatility. VanEck said this scale of defensive positioning and skew is rare, and in earlier cycles it coincided with statistically strong medium-term rebounds in Bitcoin.
Its historical data shows that skew readings in this decile were followed by average Bitcoin returns of 13.2% over the next 90 days and 133.2% over 360 days. Even so, the immediate message from current positioning is caution: participants are still structuring portfolios for weaker price scenarios.
On-chain activity slows and miner economics tighten
Bitcoin’s on-chain metrics weakened across most categories during the month. Transfer volume fell 31%, daily fee totals declined 27%, daily active addresses slipped 5%, and average transaction fees dropped 40%. Transaction count was the only metric that posted modest growth. The report also noted that as Bitcoin becomes more embedded in exchange-traded products, derivatives, and major exchanges, traditional on-chain indicators are becoming less complete as market-wide gauges.
Miner conditions also became tighter. Total miner revenue fell 11% over the month, while mining-related equities dropped about 7%. Miner outflows to exchanges increased by 1% in Bitcoin terms, suggesting a measured approach to reserve management rather than aggressive liquidation. Aggregate miner reserves remain near 684,000 BTC, down only 0.5% on a yearly basis. Within the year, an estimated 164,000 newly mined coins have been sold. Transfer volume from long-term holders fell across all cohorts, and the share of active long-term supply edged down from 31% to 30%.