Crypto options prevail amid depressed futures and perpetuals trading

Markets • October 5, 2023, 4:24PM EDT

Published 1 minute earlier on

The Block Illustration by Zoe Ellyse Del Rosario for The Block

Quick Take

Options volumes are outperforming depressed perpetual and futures trading, the crypto derivative exchange Deribit wrote in a report.

Options volumes are outperforming depressed perpetual and futures trading, the crypto derivative exchange Deribit said Thursday in an emailed report.

Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers told The Block that the increase in options trading was due to the demand for yield, especially as they expire. The Block reported late last month that $3 billion in bitcoin options and $1.8 billion in ether options expired on Sept. 29.

Overall derivatives markets volume in USD billions. Image: Deribit

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"Perpetual and futures volumes are down 22% quarter-on-quarter for the entire derivatives market due to lack of direction and volatility," Deribit wrote in the Thursday newsletter.

"The good news however is that overall market options volumes are in line Q3 vs Q2 (zero activity loss) and have therefore proven to be a more resilient asset class versus perpetuals and futures," it continued.

About Authors

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.

Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].