Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report dives into macro events, the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

Spot prices have jumped significantly in the two weeks following the November 5, 2024 U.S. elections, propelling Bitcoin to new all-time highs, while Ethereum hasn’t kept pace. The implied volatility term structure has inverted again in tandem with these spot price movements, although longer-dated tenors remain relatively stable. Derivatives market indicators reflect strong positive sentiment: perpetual funding rates are consistently positive, open interest in futures contracts is rapidly increasing and options skew remains firmly positive.

Open interest in futures has surged, indicating heightened market participation and a growing interest in leveraged exposure due to recent price movements. Similarly, open interest in perpetual contracts has sharply increased, fueled by rising trader confidence and a growing demand for leveraged positions in light of recent market rallies. Meanwhile, the implied volatility term structure continues to invert in alignment with spot price increases, demonstrating a sustained correlation between spot prices and volatility.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Futures Open Interest Reaches ATH Along With Price

Perpetual swap open interest has been increasing alongside futures, with a consistent rise in open positions over the past week reaching all-time high activity levels. This trend suggests that traders are actively pursuing leveraged exposure in response to the ongoing spot rallies, aiming to capitalize on the rising spot prices. Notably, there’s been renewed interest in Ethereum (ETH), reflected in rising trading volumes. 

Perpetual swap funding rates have reached exceptionally positive levels, indicating that long positions are confident enough to pay these rates to sustain their leveraged exposure. This trend has consistently been observed across all tokens, with a noticeable rise in funding rates since Nov 10, 2024. The persistently high funding rates highlight the strength of the bullish sentiment, which is also evident in the increasing open interest in futures contracts. This aligns with the recent spot price action, demonstrating significant upward momentum.

Option Volatility Term Structure Inverts 

The implied volatility term structure for Bitcoin has inverted amid the recent spot rallies over the past few weeks, indicating heightened market uncertainty and expectations of imminent price movements. However, levels haven’t exceeded the highs seen before the elections, and longer-dated tenors remain firmly range-bound. Concurrently, open interest in Bitcoin options has risen significantly, with a notable increase in put trading volumes. Open interest in puts has slightly surpassed calls, despite the persistently bullish market outlook indicated by the volatility smile skew.

Advanced

block-scholes-x-bybit-report.jpeg

Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Nov 20, 2024): Market Becomes Extremely Positive About Bitcoin as Volatility Curve Turns Invert

Learn how to join Bybit's VIP Program, where you can realize exclusive benefits — from up to 50% off trading fees and tailored interest rates to instant OTC trades up to $10M.

With the Bybit VIP Program, you can realize exclusive benefits — from up to 50% off trading fees and tailored interest rates to instant OTC trades, Bybit Card cashback and more. Joining the ranks of the very best traders on the platform will boost your profitability, raise your limits and offer access to VIP-only perks.

 and guides you through the steps to become a VIP trader and unlock exclusive benefits. Let's get started!

 is an exclusive club for the most esteemed traders in the crypto market. It’s designed to provide members an enhanced Bybit experience with numerous VIP-only benefits and perks. The program aims to reward avid traders who have high volumes, account equity levels and borrowing activities.

The Bybit VIP Program offers a multitude of benefits for members. These range from discounted trading fees and high limits for withdrawals and application programming interface (API) trades to priority Bybit customer support access, relationship managers and exclusive VIP events and meetups. You can find the full list of VIP exclusive benefits 

Requirements to Become a Bybit VIP Trader

You’ll need to fulfill a specific level for one of the criteria below to become a VIP trader on Bybit:

Bybit's VIP Program features six distinct tiers: 

. Each successively higher tier offers greater rewards, and also comes with more stringent qualification requirements. For instance, as a 

 trader, you’ll enjoy reduced trading fees, such as 0.03% for makers and 0.045% for takers in the spot market. To qualify for this exclusive tier, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

Once you become a VIP trader, you must continuously meet the above criteria to maintain your Bybit VIP status and keep enjoying the benefits. 

However, this doesn't mean your account will immediately lose its VIP status and revert to standard after a single day in which you don’t meet the requirements. Bybit offers a 14-day grace during which you can continue enjoying VIP perks and benefits, even if you no longer meet the program's conditions. If the criteria are not met by the end of this period, your VIP status will automatically be revoked. However, if that occurs, you can regain your status by fulfilling the requirements for any VIP tier either during or after the grace period. When this happens, Bybit will grant you a new 14-day grace period.

How to Sign up to Become a Bybit VIP Trader

In the following section, you'll find a step-by-step guide that shows you how to join the Bybit VIP Program.

The first step to becoming a VIP trader is to open a Bybit account (if you haven't already done so). Simply 

 and fill out the form with your details. After registering, you’ll need to verify your account to enjoy the platform's full functionality.

Next, fund your Bybit account with crypto or fiat currency.

You can deposit cryptocurrencies by using the 

 menu. On the page, choose your desired coin and the blockchain where you'll be depositing the assets. To avoid any loss of funds, please always ensure that you're transferring crypto from the correct chain.

Next, copy-and-paste the wallet address displayed on the page, or scan the QR code with your smartphone's camera, and initiate the deposit from your wallet. After a few confirmations, your cryptocurrencies will be credited to your Bybit account.

To fund your Bybit account with fiat currency, click on the 

 button and select one of the available services (e.g., 

 service, choose a fiat currency, the deposit amount and one of the available payment methods. After clicking on 

, follow the instructions displayed on the next pages to initiate the transaction. Your funds will be credited to your Bybit account, with processing times varying according to your chosen service and payment method.

After you have a verified Bybit account funded with either crypto or fiat, perform eligible activity on the platform until you qualify for VIP status (see table below).

You can achieve VIP status by fulfilling a minimum level of VIP 1 in either of the following categories (

After becoming a VIP trader on Bybit, don't forget to maintain your VIP status to continue enjoying the exclusive perks and benefits.

If you have active VIP status at another crypto exchange, or your total MT5 trading volume meets Bybit's VIP criteria, you can apply for a VIP+2 upgrade. This upgrade will grant you VIP status on the platform — and instantly elevate it by two levels. (Please 

 that Bybit only considers 10% of any MT5 forex trading volume.)

 and submit your 30-day trading volume on your current exchange. Bybit’s VIP team will review your application, and a Relationship Manager will contact you if you're eligible for the VIP upgrade.

How to Get Started With a 20-Day Bybit VIP Trial

Another way to qualify for VIP status on Bybit is through a 20-day trial. Instead of fulfilling the requirements of the VIP 1 level, simply fund your account with $50,000 to enjoy the exclusive benefits of the program for 20 days with a VIP Trial Card (issued one day after your deposit). The VIP trial offer is available to users who haven't used a trial within the past two months.

To unlock the 20-day VIP trial, head to the 

 menu on Bybit and use one of the available payment methods to fund your account with $50,000 in assets.

With VIP Level-Up Tasks, you can earn generous bonuses as high as 6,000 USDT. You can claim rewards for Level-Up Tasks for five VIP levels (VIP 1, VIP 2, VIP 3, VIP 4 and VIP 5), with higher tiers offering greater bonuses upon completion.

If you're eligible, you’ll see a pop-up window with VIP Level-Up Tasks after you log into your account. To claim your rewards, complete the specified trading volume requirement within 14 days of receiving the task, and click on the 

 page. You can learn more about Bybit VIP Level-Up Tasks

Exclusive Trading Benefits Offered to Bybit VIPs

As a member of the Bybit VIP Program, you can unlock exclusive benefits to supercharge your trading experience. Among these are discounted trading fees (which can significantly boost your trading revenue), profitability and chances of winning trades.

In addition to discounted trading fees, you’ll also enjoy substantially higher API trading and withdrawal limits. While the former is restricted to 10 trades per second for non-VIP users, you can take advantage of up to 120 API trades per second as a VIP trader. Simultaneously, your daily withdrawal limit is increased from the basic 1 million USDT to as high as 12 million USDT.

 is an exclusive club that provides an enhanced service experience for the most esteemed traders. As a member, you can access a multitude of exclusive benefits and perks, such as the following:

Are you ready to supercharge your trading experience? 

Intermediate

bybit vip.png

How to Become a Bybit VIP: Your Guide to Exclusive Benefits

LETSTOP is a drive-to-earn mobile app that monitors phone distractions while driving. Learn more about how it works in this article.

Smartphone distractions have created an unprecedented road safety crisis worldwide. 

: texting behind the wheel makes drivers six times more likely to crash than drunk driving does — yet millions of drivers still use their phones while operating vehicles.

This article explores how LETSTOP is transforming safe driving into rewarding experiences through blockchain technology. We'll examine its drive-to-earn model, reward system, tokenomics and potential as both a road safety solution and an investment opportunity.

 is a drive-to-earn mobile app that monitors phone distractions while driving. Users earn STOP tokens for phone-free driving through a gamified system that transforms daily drives into rewarding experiences.

A life-changing car accident caused by a distracted driver running a red light inspired LETSTOP co-founder Almog Nissan to reimagine road safety. Together with co-founder and CEO Dor Levy, they envisioned rewarding safe driving, rather than just punishing dangerous behavior.

The founders built a platform that combines automotive technology, cryptocurrency and AI to revolutionize road safety through rewards. This innovative approach has quickly gained traction, with over 50,000 users logging over 3 million kilometers of safe driving since the app’s launch.

Distracted driving claims thousands of lives annually, with 

, of which 9% are directly linked to phone use. LETSTOP aims to tackle this crisis as follows:

Each of these objectives works harmoniously to support LETSTOP's ultimate mission of transforming road safety into a rewarding experience that benefits both individual drivers and society.

The LETSTOP app operates through a sophisticated system that monitors and rewards safe driving through the following apps and features:

The result is a dynamic system in which better driving habits unlock greater earning potential.

The following five core features power LETSTOP's drive-to-earn ecosystem.

LETSTOP uses a dynamic 40-level system to make safe driving rewarding. As drivers earn XP through distraction-free journeys, they advance from Level 1's 2% bonus toward Level 40's 70% boost. Through this gamified approach, daily commutes become opportunities to climb the ranks while building safer driving habits.

LETSTOP Credits are the core currency of the platform, earned directly through safe driving achievements. Earning rates directly scale with user level, vehicle type and subscription tier as follows: PRO subscribers enjoy unlimited earning potential, while PLUS and LITE tiers are capped at 300 and 150 monthly credits, respectively.

In the STOP Store, users invest their earned credits into virtual cars with unique earning multipliers. From the basic model's 2% bonus to the Jazzster GN's 150% boost, each vehicle offers different strategic advantages for maximizing rewards.

Beyond vehicles, the store features mystery boxes containing rewards from 10 to 450 credits, as well as car upgrades and subscription boosts. Users can also access a voucher marketplace to redeem credits for real-world rewards through LETSTOP's partnership network.

LETSTOP's triple-boost system combines vehicle multipliers for immediate earnings acceleration, a level-progression system for sustained growth and a 5% referral program for community expansion. Premium membership unlocks enhanced benefits across three tiers, while special events create time-limited opportunities for increased rewards.

The platform's comprehensive rewards system operates across three membership tiers, each one tailored to different user needs. LETSTOP PRO (at $9.90 monthly) offers unlimited credit earning potential and exclusive benefits. The PLUS tier provides a balanced option at $4.90 monthly with a 300-credit earning cap, while the free LITE tier allows users to earn up to 150 monthly credits.

Beyond direct earnings, the rewards system incorporates partner vouchers, cryptocurrency conversion options and community features, such as leaderboards. Achievement rewards recognize milestones in users' safe driving journeys, while the upcoming cryptocurrency integration will allow users to convert their efforts into tradeable STOP tokens.

LETSTOP has shown consistent progress, with the following key milestones already achieved:

Looking ahead to 2025, LETSTOP plans to implement the following key developments:

These developments aim to strengthen LETSTOP's position as a leader in drive-to-earn while furthering its mission to enable safer roads worldwide.

STOP is an SPL token built on the Solana network. It’s designed to bridge safe driving behavior with cryptocurrency rewards. The STOP token implements an annual halving mechanism to ensure long-term value preservation, similar to Bitcoin's model, but accelerated to align with the project's growth trajectory.

STOP has a max supply of 100 million tokens, to be distributed in the following manner:

The growing adoption of LETSTOP's drive-to-earn app and its impact on road safety directly influence STOP's price trajectory. While cryptocurrency forecasts remain speculative by nature, multiple price analysis platforms project the following for STOP:

These forecasts suggest a positive long-term outlook for STOP, driven by the growing drive-to-earn sector and LETSTOP's innovative approach to road safety. However, STOP's future value will ultimately depend upon user adoption, platform development and broader market conditions.

Looking to trade LETSTOP tokens? Bybit now offers the STOP/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, you’ll first need to create a Bybit account, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

STOP shows promising potential in the drive-to-earn sector, though investors should carefully weigh both its strengths and potential risks before making investment decisions.

While STOP's innovative approach to road safety and its strong initial traction distinguish it in the market, potential investors should 

 and invest no more than they can afford to lose.

As smartphone distractions continue to endanger lives on roads worldwide, LETSTOP offers an innovative path forward. Through its innovative drive-to-earn model and STOP token ecosystem, the platform transforms daily commutes into safer roads and user earnings opportunities, showing how digital innovation can effectively “drive” positive behavioral change.

letstop, stop crypto.png

LETSTOP (STOP): Turning Daily Rides Into Profitable Journeys

FDUSD, a stablecoin from First Digital Labs, is now live on Sui as a native token, joining other stablecoins like USDC and AUSD.

The S&P 500 ended flat amid mixed earnings and geopolitical concerns, as investors awaited Thursday's data and Fed commentary. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 2.01%, with Bitcoin rising by 1.91% and Ether dropping by 0.59%, in the past 24 hours.

Today's top performer is LUMIA, which surged 16.1% following the announcement of its partnership with Cobox to bridge real-world assets and virtual ownership.

Lumia (LUMIA), founded in 2024, is a Layer 2 blockchain solution leveraging the Polygon CDK to enhance scalability, liquidity, and interoperability. It addresses challenges like data availability and cross-chain interactions by incorporating AvailDA for decentralized data and Polygon AggLayer for cross-chain functionality, enabling efficient and flexible dApp development. 

 to integrate real-world assets (RWAs) into its immersive, player-owned universe. This collaboration aims to enhance asset liquidity, trading, and gameplay experiences, bridging digital and physical realms for more tangible and vibrant virtual ownership.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

, a stablecoin from First Digital Labs, is now live on Sui as a native token, joining other stablecoins like USDC and AUSD. This launch reflects growing institutional confidence in Sui, which has seen significant growth in TVL and DeFi volume. FDUSD, backed by reserves in Asian banks and US Treasury debt, offers DeFi users a reliable, US Dollar-pegged stablecoin, bridging traditional finance and cryptocurrency ecosystems.

Yesterday, the total flow into Bitcoin Spot ETFs is $146.9 million, with $0 million in GBTC and $146.9 million in non-GBTC products.

: the Spotlight Badge, which requires minting through the Spotlight Protocol and joining a Spotlight circle; the Impossible Finance Badge, which involves completing social tasks, claiming the TIDIA faucet, staking TIDIA on Impossible Finance, and then claiming the badge; and the SNGLR Badge, where users connect their wallet, follow artists, mint IP assets, tweet, and provide personal details to claim their badge. More badges are coming soon!

Beginner

4.png

FDUSD Launches as Native Stablecoin on Sui, Strengthening DeFi Ecosystem

Bybit Learn

Altcoins

Privacy coins are cryptocurrencies with extra features that enhance anonymity and confidentiality. Learn more about the best privacy coins to invest in.

For many cryptocurrency enthusiasts, the biggest benefit of crypto is its ability to offer privacy. Unlike traditional currency, you can use cryptos without necessarily being tracked by banking systems and other financial institutions. However, not all cryptos offer the same level of privacy and decentralization. If confidentiality is your priority, it might be worthwhile to look into privacy coins. Explore this guide to find the best privacy coins for stealth transactions and secure investments.

To qualify as a privacy coin, a crypto must be both anonymous and untraceable. Many cryptocurrencies are only partially anonymous. They don't link your coins to your real-world name, but cryptos like 

 have a public ledger in which users can link addresses to Bitcoin transactions. Meanwhile, real privacy coins are entirely confidential. People can’t look at a list of transactions and see that the same user address keeps receiving specific amounts of money. They also can’t look up any token to see which user owns it, or to trace its user history.

The typical privacy coin has to use a lot of underlying technology to maintain user privacy. It can be somewhat tricky to properly verify private financial transactions without revealing anything about the people performing them. Different privacy coins use different mechanics to achieve this goal.

Some coins use a mathematical concept called 

 to protect users' identities. These protocols independently verify details off-chain, and then send a message to the network that something is true without providing evidence for 

 it’s true. This keeps details such as transaction amounts from being published on the network. 

Other privacy coins generate single-use stealth addresses for every transaction. Users' publicly-listed addresses change with every transaction, so no one can track financial activity. Still, other privacy cryptos even use features such as ring signatures that mix decoy addresses in with real addresses to further obscure data.

There are many advantages to working with privacy coins. The anonymity can be helpful if you want to avoid scrutiny, or if you simply prefer that no one knows how you’re handling your finances. Confidentiality can be especially useful if you’re investing a lot. When no one knows your private transactions, it's harder for people to predict what you’ll do next. You can keep your competitors guessing, and avoid catching the interest of hackers who are looking for wealthy crypto owners. 

Because privacy coins are highly fungible, individual coins cannot be tainted by past use. For example, there's no risk of accepting a Bitcoin previously used in an illegal transaction and suddenly being scrutinized by law enforcement. Ultimately, privacy coins provide peace of mind, financial security and ease of use.

However, privacy coins aren't perfect. To compensate a company for all of the extra features that protect users' identities, you usually have to pay higher-than-average transaction fees. In addition, since privacy coins are sometimes used for illegal activities, using them can make your behavior look more suspicious to law enforcement. 

Due to their controversy, there’s always the chance that privacy coins could be banned. Investors may risk sudden legal changes that might impact the value of their crypto coins. Finally, if something does go wrong with a transaction, privacy features make it harder to recover stolen or lost cryptocurrency.

When it comes to day-to-day use, privacy coins function similarly to regular coins. Both of them use the same basic methods for buying, selling, storing and exchanging coins. The other main similarity is that both of these types of coins are cryptocurrency: digital assets that exist on a blockchain network and have a value assigned to them based on user demand.

The main difference between private cryptocurrencies and regular coins is in their transparency. Most regular blockchains have public ledgers, so that you can look at transaction data and see how coins are being spent. Privacy coins obscure this transaction data. Not only can average users not see the data, but it's also obscured from law enforcement, network developers and others. Due to these features, privacy coins aren't always sold on crypto exchanges like regular coins, and their transaction fees can be higher.

There are a lot of fantastic privacy coins to choose from. However, the following coins stand out from the rest due to their ability to provide confidential transactions and helpful user features.

 is a somewhat unique private cryptocurrency because it offers different levels of privacy. Users have options, such as hiding IP addresses through 

 to hide transaction amounts. However, despite being fast and user-friendly, Verge’s security isn't the best. In 2018, hackers were able to 

Verge crypto is currently sitting at $0.0043 (as of Aug 10, 2023). Its price has been consistently low since early 2022. However, there was a spike in price at the end of June 2023 that brought Verge’s price from $0.0016 to a peak of $0.0096. There could be renewed interest in this crypto, so you might want to consider investing in it. 

 is probably the most popular private crypto right now. It uses stealth addresses and ring confidential transactions to protect users' identities. Furthermore, it's easy to mine and has no block limitations. Despite these perks, of course, Monero isn't perfect. Its fees are high and it's not highly decentralized.

If you're looking for privacy coins to invest in, Monero's popularity makes it a smart choice. Its current price is $155.65 (as of Aug 10, 2023), and it has an impressive market cap of $2.8 billion. Though its price is down from an all-time high of $542.33, Monero still performs very well.

, you can choose a normal transaction or pick the 

 option to opt in to their privacy features. In exchange for a higher fee, Dash will use a 

 to obscure where your funds came from. This can be helpful, but some beginners may find Dash tricky to work with.

Dash is currently selling for $32.57 (as of Aug 10, 2023). It has a market cap of $371 million and a 24-hour trading volume of around $32 million. Currently, Dash has been trending downward. However, it's a fairly consistent crypto, so it still might be useful to investors.

 markets its service as being a more secure version of Bitcoin transactions. This cryptocurrency focuses on simplicity, convenience and security, using zero-knowledge proofs for enhanced privacy. However, the crypto is mostly designed for Linux users and CPU miners, so it won't work for everyone.

Trading at $29.44 per token (as of Aug 10, 2023) and with a market cap of $243 million, Zcash is fairly popular with investors. Unlike many other privacy coins, its price has held mostly stable instead of zigzagging around drastically.

 is an innovative, community-driven privacy coin that uses the 

 protocol to algorithmically conceal user addresses and coin balances. It can process private transactions without even using wallet transactions. Keep in mind, however, that Grin is still fairly untested, and its community-led development can be slow.

Grin currently costs $0.032 per token (as of Aug 10, 2023). With a market cap of just $4.7 million, it isn't a very well-known privacy coin. Grin is still an intriguing investment, though, because of numerous small price jumps and dips that can lead to valuable trading opportunities.

 is another multi-level privacy coin. Users can choose between an 

 to get exactly the level of privacy they need. This blockchain features a huge node network that increases security and decentralization. However, users need to know that sending from a Z-address to a T-address will show the public how much money is being sent.

Though it's currently priced at $8.66 (as of Aug 10, 2023), Horizen’s price has gone through a lot of change lately. In the past month alone, its price has almost doubled. This coin's rapid movements make it a favorite with short-term investors.

’s privacy-first design uses two separate blockchain layers to keep user data confidential. Other useful features include staking, low fees and scalability. However, users need to be aware that Oasis Network is relatively new, and hasn't yet been able to fully develop all of its planned features.

Oasis Network's token, ROSE, has a current price of $0.046 (as of Aug 10, 2023). This is low as compared to its all-time high of $0.59 in early 2022, so investors may want to be cautious. Though it doesn't seem likely ROSE’s price will recover anytime soon, new launches from Oasis Network could cause unexpected price increases.

This popular crypto's been around for a while, and a few years ago, Decred began to offer users the option of enabling privacy. Their simple solution consists of jumbling up transaction data so no one can see which user is associated with which transaction. 

 is fast, affordable and effective, but its method for confidential transactions might not offer quite as much security as other privacy coin platforms.

Currently selling for $14.38 (as of Aug 10, 2023), DCR has been steadily declining in value for over a year, so it might not be the best investment right now. However, this crypto has been around long enough that most watchers believe its price will recover. In fact, there was a rise in price from mid-June to early July, from $12.40 to $19.06.

Privacy coins are somewhat controversial. Not only can they be used for illegal activities, but their systems also make it much harder for financial regulators to monitor the crypto company. Privacy coins are currently legal in the United States, but some countries, like Japan, ban people from using them. Other countries, like Australia and South Korea, try to offer a compromise by removing privacy coins from crypto exchanges but allowing private citizens to use them.

Privacy coins are in high demand, so they can be quite valuable. Especially in times of financial uncertainty when a lot of users are looking for secure ways to handle finances, privacy coin values can spike. Even if you have no need for private cryptocurrencies, purchasing some of these coins can still provide big returns. For example, over the course of a few months in 2021, Monero more than doubled in price.

However, keep in mind that their controversy makes them a little risky. In some countries, you can’t purchase privacy coins through crypto exchanges, so it's hard to use them for short-term investing. Every new announcement of a ban causes a drop in prices, so unexpected regulation may affect your portfolio. Privacy coins are harder to regulate, and some networks have crashed due to poor management or illegal behavior.

Privacy coins are a great way for people to protect their financial data, and they can also be great for savvy investors. Security features, such as zero-knowledge proofs and ring signatures, keep others from being able to see how much crypto you have or how you spend it. As long as you take the time to research coins and pick the right option, privacy coins can be useful. If you’re looking to trade privacy coins, you can 

8 Best Privacy Coins for a Secure & Confidential Investment

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards