Glassnode said in a post on X that the bitcoin options market is flashing a more positive mood. The bounce in volatility expectations, the easing of short-term fear and the continued dominance of call positioning all point in that direction.
Volatility premium returns after weeks of inversion
Implied volatility for BTC options is now about 10% higher than realized volatility, according to Glassnode. That ends a stretch of several weeks in which realized volatility had been running above implied volatility, and it signals that the market is once again paying for future uncertainty. Still, current volatility is nowhere near stressed extremes.
The options skew tells a similar story at the short end. Hedging demand for near-term contracts has fallen sharply, with the one-week 25-delta skew down to about 7%. Further out the curve, the picture is different: longer-dated skew remains in the 10%-12% area, a sign that investors are still buying protection against medium- and long-term downside.
Call open interest still dominates
Open interest across bitcoin options remains clearly tilted toward calls. Call open interest value is about $15 billion, roughly $10 billion above the put side, and the call-heavy bias is still visible after adjusting for recently expired contracts.
On the flow side, trading has been concentrated in the $61,000-$67,000 zone. Buying of $65,000 calls has been particularly active, accompanied by put selling — an overall pattern that suggests near-term trading sentiment is improving.
Glassnode sums up the state of the market as “cautious optimism”: short-term panic is fading and bullish exposure remains favored, but longer-term hedging demand has not gone away, and investors have not fully abandoned downside protection.