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

December's end-of-year options expiration brought an unexpected drop as realized volatility fell to the lowest levels of the month. Perpetual swap open interest remained stable, indicating these markets weren't heavily used for hedging against expired options, likely contributing to the muted volatility. 

While most expired open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) hasn't been reinvested, the balance of calls and puts remains consistent. Notably, ETH options are pricing in higher implied volatility as compared to BTC, particularly for shorter expirations, leading to a flat term structure for ETH, while BTC is offering cheaper options exposure.

In the perpetual markets, low volatility and minimal spot movements have led funding rates for nearly all tokens to mirror broader market sentiment throughout the holiday season. On the options side, BTC's term structure is noticeably lower and steeper than ETH's, with realized volatility now dipping below implied volatility levels, highlighting an intriguing shift in market dynamics.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Open Interest Solid Amid Year-End Options Expiration

Although open interest for both BTC and ETH perpetual swaps hasn’t returned to early December 2024 highs, it remained robust throughout the significant end-of-year options expiration event. This suggests that these markets weren’t heavily utilized to 

 of the expiring options contracts, likely contributing to the lack of volatility observed during this period. Instead, trading volumes have dipped noticeably during the winter holiday season, coinciding with a collapse in realized volatility back to December 2024’s lowest levels.

BTC Option Curve Remains Steep During Call-Put Parity

The expiration of December's end-of-year options didn’t trigger the anticipated surge in volatility; instead, realized volatility has plummeted to the lower end of its recent range. The implied volatility term structure remains steep compared to both its recent behavior and ETH's, with longer-dated implied volatility around 57%, and 1-week at-the-money options trading about five points lower. Much of the expired open interest hasn’t yet been rolled into new positions, maintaining a neutral balance between puts and calls. Consequently, BTC's options market positioning is relatively neutral, lacking the leverage it had at the start of December 2024.

Huge ETH Option Expiring Doesn’t Cause Volatility

A late December spike in realized volatility didn’t carry into the new year, with ETH’s spot price currently exhibiting volatility below that of short-tenor implied volatility. Interestingly, the implied volatility term structure has undergone a steepening and re-flattening over the past week, contrasting with BTC’s slightly steeper profile. This suggests that ETH’s options market is anticipating higher short-term volatility in spot price movements. 

Despite the significant expiration of options open interest at the end of December 2024, which didn’t lead to a rollover into later expirations, call options continue to dominate the market and have increased at the start of 2025.

Advanced

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Jan 2, 2025): BTC Options Continue to See Call-Put Parity, With Lower Short-Term Volatility Expected

Dive into FLock, a decentralized platform that revolutionizes the way AI models are developed, trained and deployed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform countless industries, but its development often raises questions about privacy, control and inclusivity. 

 is a unique decentralized platform that democratizes AI training, fine-tuning and inferencing. With its blockchain-powered infrastructure, FLock ensures transparency, security and community-driven decision-making, paving the way for AI models that align with established societal values. 

In this article, we’ll explore how FLock decentralizes AI training, its key features and its potential impact on developers, communities and users.

 platform that revolutionizes the way AI models are developed, trained and deployed. By leveraging blockchain technology and a novel approach called 

, FLock addresses critical issues in AI development, such as centralized control, lack of transparency and privacy concerns.

At its core, FLock’s mission is to democratize AI by enabling communities to participate directly in the creation and refinement of AI models. Through federated learning, FLock trains AI models across multiple decentralized devices or servers. This method ensures that data remains local, eliminating the need for raw data exchange while still enabling robust model training. By decentralizing the training process, FLock not only protects individual privacy, but also fosters a more inclusive ecosystem in which diverse contributors can collaborate.

What sets FLock apart is its integration of 

. This ensures that all contributions — whether data, compute power or feedback — are transparently recorded and fairly rewarded. Blockchain tech’s immutable ledger enhances trust among participants and safeguards the process against manipulation. Additionally, the platform’s on-chain incentive mechanisms encourage participation from a wide range of contributors, ensuring that rewards are distributed equitably.

Ultimately, FLock empowers communities to develop bespoke AI models tailored to their specific needs. By decentralizing the process and prioritizing transparency and collaboration, FLock breaks the monopoly of large corporations, creating an AI ecosystem that aligns with public ethics and societal values.

, an Oxford alumnus with a robust background in AI and blockchain technology. Sun, who serves as FLock's CEO, has an impressive career trajectory, having worked as the Director of AI for the Royal Bank of Canada and as an AI Research Fellow at Imperial College London. His vision for FLock stems from a deep understanding of both the technical and ethical challenges of AI development.

The founding team also includes other Oxford alumni, boasting over a decade of combined experience in AI research and the cryptocurrency industry. This team brings a collective blend of academic excellence and practical expertise that positions FLock to lead the decentralized AI movement.

FLock has successfully raised $11 million in funding across two rounds, reflecting strong investor confidence in its vision. In May 2024, FLock secured a $6 million seed round co-led by Lightspeed Faction and Tagus Capital, with additional backing from Digital Currency Group (DCG), Volt Capital, OKX Ventures and Inception Capital.

Later, in December 2024, FLock announced a $3 million successful funding round led by DCG and joined by prominent names like Animoca Brands, Fenbushi Capital, GnosisVC and GSR. These investments are being channelled into enhancing the platform’s testnet and federated learning client, accelerating FLock’s mission of enabling secure, collaborative AI development.

With this funding and over 1,500 nodes contributing from platforms like Numerai and Kaggle, FLock is rapidly scaling its impact on decentralized AI training.

FLock AI revolutionizes AI development through its decentralized training framework. This approach allows participants to contribute to AI model training without ever sharing their personal data. Instead, models are trained locally across devices using federated learning, which ensures that data remains with its owners while still enhancing the accuracy of the model overall. 

FLock’s reward system is designed to incentivize active participation. Contributors who provide data, computational power and/or feedback are compensated with FLOCK tokens, ensuring a fair distribution of rewards. 

FLock empowers its community through a robust governance framework. Decisions regarding AI model development, deployment and ethical considerations are driven by the community, ensuring alignment with established societal values. Through blockchain-based voting mechanisms, contributors can influence the direction of AI projects, fostering transparency and public accountability. 

FLock’s modular architecture allows contributors to participate in specific aspects of AI model development. Whether providing raw data or computational power or even refining algorithms, the platform enables a collaborative and scalable development process. 

At the core of FLock’s philosophy is its commitment to privacy and security. By leveraging blockchain technology, the platform ensures that no single entity controls the AI development process. Data remains local and protected by cryptographic measures, while the immutability of blockchain guarantees transparency in every transaction and model update. 

 begins with a blockchain and an AI layer.

The blockchain layer underpins FLock’s incentivization and security mechanisms.

The AI layer facilitates model training, refinement and deployment, leveraging both centralized and federated approaches.

Let’s have a look at the supply and demand for the FLOCK token.

FLock adopts a 1:2 ratio model between team/investors (33.3%) and community (66.7%), prioritizing community-driven growth and ecosystem expansion. The majority of tokens are allocated to incentivize user participation and long-term ecosystem success.

FLock aims to improve the future of AI development by decentralizing the training process and ensuring transparency, privacy and inclusivity. By leveraging blockchain and federated learning, FLock empowers communities to contribute to AI creation without compromising on privacy. Its innovative reward system and community-driven governance foster a fair and collaborative ecosystem. 

With significant backing and a growing network of contributors, FLock is positioning itself as a leader in decentralized AI, offering a more ethical and secure alternative to traditional AI development models. As it continues to scale, FLock is set to transform the way AI models are built and deployed.

 — and earn a share of a 10 million FLOCK prize pool. For more details, visit 

Intermediate

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FLock AI: Decentralized AI Training

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how you can complete a series of tasks in Network3 for Bybit Web3 Airdrop Arcade.

Task 1: Register for a Network3 Account and Connect Your Bybit Wallet 

: Navigate to the campaign page and click on the 

task. Click on the task, and Galxe will ask to redirect you to the Network3 register page.

: Register for a Network3 account using your email address. You may indicate a 

Task 2: Download the Network3 App and Run a Node for One Hour

 and choose your operating system to download the Network3 app.

 or powerbutton, depending upon which operating system you’re using. For ease of reference, we’ve used macOS and iOS as examples below.

: Keep running the node until the timer reaches 

Beginner

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How to Complete Network3 Tasks for Bybit Web3 Airdrop Arcade

Bybit launched the Bybit Merch Creative Challenge for university students worldwide, offering a $50,000 USDT prize pool.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.22% on Thursday, its fifth straight decline, with investors eyeing Friday’s economic updates. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 2.03%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising by 2.79% and 2.70%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today's top performer is XRP, which surged 1.9% following a rise in price driven by increased open interest and positive market sentiment.

Ripple (XRP), launched in August 2012, is a blockchain technology company focused on improving international payments with its cryptocurrency, XRP. XRP price surged due to increased open interest, a major XRP transfer, and market sentiment linked to Trump's inauguration. Bullish momentum is supported by high short liquidations, with key resistance levels to watch for further price movement.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

 for university students worldwide, offering a $50,000 USDT prize pool. Participants can design exclusive Bybit merchandise, with submissions open until Jan. 15, 2025. Winners will be announced on Feb. 1, 2025, across four prize categories.

Yesterday, Bitcoin Spot ETFs recorded a total inflow of $84.8M, driven by $107.9M from non-GBTC funds, partially offset by a $23.1M outflow from GBTC.

, offering an airdrop for participants who complete tasks like swapping and bridging using the Mango wallet. Points earned through tasks determine airdrop rewards. Join via the Mango wallet and follow steps on the testnet dashboard.

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Bybit Launches $50,000 Merch Design Challenge for University Students Worldwide

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Explainers

Altcoins

Crypto

Cradles utilizes a novel economic model called Play to Unlock to promote a fair and healthy competitive gaming environment. Players can also enjoy airdropped NFTs ocassionally. Learn how it works.

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As technological advances fuel the continuous surge in demands for DeFi and web3 games, we’ve been spoiled with the choice of over 5,000 current gaming tokens. Some of the most popular ones include Axie Infinity (

). We’re familiar with the myriad play-to-earn concepts. Among the myriad play-to-earn concepts, Cradles's Play to Unlock (P2U) approach stands out prominently, focusing on fair, transparent yet immersive gameplay without excessive gimmicks.

This article will delve into the details of CRDS coins and explore their purpose, functionality and impact in the digital currency landscape.

 is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) built to provide web3 gamers with an exceptionally polished gaming experience that mimics Web 2.0 gaming with a touch of novelty economic model powered by blockchain technology.

Its gaming system features an immersive prehistoric world storyline with unique gaming modules for inventory management, guild interaction and novel earning mechanics. Inside the game, players can acquire crystals, which are the core currency in the world of Cradles. These crystals can be used to purchase a wide array of goods, and can also be exchanged for in-game tokens (CRDS). 

 focuses on rewarding players with cryptocurrency for their time and effort spent completing in-game quests, winning battles and selling in-game assets for cryptocurrencies. The play-to-unlock (P2U) model, on the other hand, focuses on unlocking CRDS using a deposit-based approach, preventing speculators from immediately injecting their profits into the secondary market for gains. The tokens within CRDS deposits inherently have a three-year lock-in period, making it impossible for speculators to unlock them swiftly. Moreover, all players can attain similar rewards, with a maximum of ten times the rewards for the highest-ranked versus the lowest-ranked player. 

However, lock-in periods vary. Lower-ranked players, needing more mastery of game intricacies, may be unable to complete all unlock tasks, meaning the Cradles Power they acquire may not reduce their lock-in time. On the other hand, higher-ranked players, skilled in completing in-game tasks, can achieve a shorter lock-in period.

Players are required to engage in in-game activities and perform on-chain operations to unlock their tokens. For example, the native coin (CRDS) represents a form of off-game cryptocurrency. Players must complete daily tasks published on the mission platform, earning them Cradles Power that will then facilitate the swift unlocking of their tokens, thus allowing them to acquire CRDS. Each CRDS deposit comes with a three-year lock-in period, and can be used with an NFT or Cradles Power and the Furnace Contract (see below) to unlock. 

We’ll discuss the specific value of CRDS later in the article. 

Cradles offers diverse features and immersive gameplay that allows players to experience the thrill of an MMORPG like no other. The game focuses on a prehistoric realm teeming with prehistoric creatures and monsters. Players must exercise extreme caution when dealing with these creatures in order to avoid being slain. Furthermore, gameplay takes place in a lawless land where player-versus-player (PVP) interactions are permitted, allowing your hard-earned loot to become fair game for others. 

The Cradles game system includes modules for inventory management, guilds, monsters, skills and talents. The game's content is regularly updated to serve players better. Inside the game, players can acquire crystals, which are the core currency in the world of Cradles. 

These crystals can be used to purchase various goods, and exchanged for in-game tokens. However, exercise caution, as all items in a player’s inventory will be dropped upon their in-game death. This presents both an opportunity and a challenge as you can kill other players to gain advantages, but a player also risks significant loss if their character is slain.

The game also features an extensive PvP system with over 180 weapons and 100 skills. Players are encouraged to pay attention to their talent system in the game. They can access more powerful weapons and skills by leveling up to unlock the talent system. PvP can occur either in designated dueling arenas or in specific areas within the game, such as mining zones. 

Crystals are the most precious items in the game, and you can collect them within the mining zones. However, you'll need to equip yourself with a pickaxe and acquire mining skills. For specific requirements and item needs, follow the instructions to set up once you’re in the game. Upon entering the mining zone, the crystal mine will guide you in obtaining the necessary tools and skills. Once you've collected crystals, you can exchange them for CRDS deposits. 

CRDS is a form of off-game cryptocurrency. Each CRDS deposit comes with a three-year lock-in period and can be used with an NFT or Cradles Power and the Furnace Contract to unlock. Players who received CRDS will have a three-year lock-in period. While Cradles Power facilitates the swift unlocking of your tokens, allowing you to acquire CRDS. 

Cradles’ native token is CRDS, with a total supply of 300,000,000 tokens. Most of the CRDS tokens will be distributed to the community, allowing them to contribute to Cradles' improvement. On the Token Launch night, CRDS will be airdropped to all community members. All eligible community members will receive CRDS rewards for free.

Tokens allocation is planned as follows: 

The Furnace Contract is a new type of contract catering uniquely to Cradles. It’s designed for token unlocking, as opposed to pledging.

All CRDS tokens come with a three-year lock-in period. After players cash out their crystals, the crystals will become a deposit in the Furnace Contract, naturally subject to a 3-year lock-in period. After three years, you can withdraw all the CRDS within the deposit. However, if you acquire Cradles Power and burn it, you can reduce the unlocking time by a maximum of 70%. 

Cradles uses this mechanism to prevent speculators from immediately cashing out upon obtaining tokens. In addition, it rewards players familiar with the task processes and mechanisms by allowing them to receive their rightful rewards.

The Furnace Contract consists of two parts. The first one involves directly exchanging CRDS using NFTs, while the second part entails using Cradles Power to reduce the lock-in period. 

These NFTs are airdropped to players. They are mysterious and possess enigmatic energy that can instantly unlock a certain amount of CRDS. Players must pay attention to daily tasks and special missions to unlock these NFTs. Upon completing a special mission, you’ll receive a decaying hourglass. Be sure not to miss tasks related to a decaying hourglass.

Mysterious events feature arena battles in which players will have a higher chance of receiving extra CRDS as rewards. However, please note that events with potentially lucrative rewards often require using CRDS as entry tickets. All players need these tickets to enter and compete in the 

Cradles is built on the Arbitrum One network, and its P2U mechanics are used to preserve the longevity of the games. The unique Furnace Contract allows users the privilege and ability to shorten the coins-locked period of a specific deposit. 

The game promotes a healthy and fair gaming environment by eradicating the abuse of gaming bots that are disproportionate to their input. Essentially, the more players engage and interact with in-game communities to complete activities and perform on-chain operations, the higher the chances of unlocking their tokens.

Unlike traditional game projects, Cradles focuses on the community, as it represents the voice of all users in the entire game process. The Cradles world is built with robust game development, game design and voting rights to promote fairness and transparency, thus, increasing the game’s sustainability. 

Users interested in CRDS can sign up for a Bybit account and trade with Bybit Spot for the CRDS/USDT pair. However, since CRDS is the latest coin listing via Bybit Launchpad, investors who participate in the event must complete the following requirements: 

Only users who have completed the Identity Verification Level 1 individual or business requirement are eligible for the Launchpad event.

 are not allowed to use Bybit Launchpad 3.0.

Please note that Identity Verification must be completed before the subscription period starts. Please click 

Here’s the timeline for CRDS on Bybit Launchpad:

Cradles is more than just a blockchain game, focusing on gameplay and the game's sustainability. It consists of a global team of professional film and television producers who can provide uniform designs, film and television performances, sound effects and more. Although the community isn’t yet large, the developers promise to improve continuously and to raise more funds for development.

What Is Cradles Coin (CRDS): Let’s Play to Unlock

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards