Bitcoin Options Pricing Falls to Five-Year Low as Traders Hedge Downside

Bitcoin (BTC) options pricing has reached a five-year low, with near-term implied volatility falling below realized volatility as traders maintain long positions while adding downside protection.

Near-term implied volatility stood at 33.5%, more than 4 percentage points below realized volatility. The gap indicates that options are priced relatively cheaply compared with recent market movements.

Bitcoin options skew declined by nearly 3 percentage points over the past week. Traders concentrated purchases in October-expiring puts with strike prices of $78,000 and $80,000. The largest block trade reached $204 million.

The positioning indicates that investors still generally hold long positions while using options to hedge against a decline, rather than shifting broadly to bearish exposure.

Ethereum options showed a different pattern. The largest enterprise buyer plans to stop purchasing options within several weeks, while trading has been led by sellers of call options. Implied volatility also remained above realized volatility.