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

Bitcoin

Crypto

Bitcoin Pizza Day is a monumental event in Bitcoin history that celebrates the first real-world Bitcoin transaction on May 22, 2010.

Did you know that Bitcoin was first used to buy pizza? In the early days of Bitcoin, proponents were bullish on its potential. However, few people had the foresight to see just how valuable Bitcoin would become. The crypto community celebrates Bitcoin Pizza Day each year in recognition of the first real-life transaction using Bitcoin. This annual event symbolizes Bitcoin's humble beginnings and digital currencies' transformative potential. Reflecting on the exponential rise in Bitcoin's value since its early days teaches us the valuable lesson that remarkable developments often require time. 

Bitcoin Pizza Day isn’t merely a milestone event in the history of Bitcoin; the story itself offers a lesson in patience. Laszlo Hanyecz was an early Bitcoin miner in 2010. At that time, miners earned 50 BTC per block. Mining competition was minimal, because Bitcoin was still in its infancy and it was relatively easy for miners to amass a large stash of tokens. 

While thousands of merchants now accept Bitcoin payments for all sorts of transactions, back in 2020, no one had ever used cryptocurrency to complete a real-life transaction before. As an early Bitcoin adopter, Hanyecz made an example of Bitcoin’s practicality by using his bitcoins to purchase two Papa John's pizzas. Hanyecz placed his 

offering to pay 10,000 BTC in exchange for the delivery of two pizzas. It took four days until a 19-year-old student named Jeremy Sturdivant accepted the offer. 

Bitcoin Pizza Day has become a monumental event in Bitcoin history, celebrating Bitcoin’s prominence as the world’s largest crypto in terms of 

While Bitcoin launched more than 14 years ago with the mining of its 

, Bitcoin Pizza Day is only one of several notable milestones in its seminal decade-plus history. BTC has navigated through several hurdles, such as 

,, exceptional volatility and more. However, the Bitcoin community has continued to grow, and BTC is increasingly used for everything from buying NFTs to investing in real estate. Let’s look at some of its key milestones.

’s visionary Bitcoin project comes into being with the mining of its first block. 

 Laszlo Hanyecz purchases two pizzas for 10,000 BTC, the first real-world Bitcoin transaction. This date continues to be celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

 Bitcoin’s price hits $1 for the first time. Awareness of the infamous Bitcoin pizza transaction contributes to increasing interest in the cryptocurrency, leading to a price jump to $30 within a few months' time. 

While Bitcoin Pizza Day places cryptocurrency in the spotlight, Bitcoin gains even greater media scrutiny when the FBI shuts down the 

, an online marketplace used for money laundering and the sale of illicit drugs. 

 The largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, 

, is hacked, resulting in the loss of 850,000 BTC and gaining notoriety as one of the most significant security events in Bitcoin’s history. 

 Bitcoin launches the Segregated Witness (

) soft fork upgrade, which enables the creation of second-layer scaling solutions such as 

 (BCH), a hard fork of Bitcoin, is introduced, enabling faster transactions with lower fees and dividing the Bitcoin community. 

Bitcoin is first traded on a regulatory exchange when Bitcoin futures are listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Bitcoin’s price exceeds $20,000 for the first time, attributed to the introduction of futures trading and the growing interest of institutional investors. 

 for the first time as a result of increased support from financial companies and institutional investors.

 — Bitcoin has its second major upgrade, termed 

, which improves the efficiency and security of Bitcoin transactions while reducing costs. This upgrade also enables the execution of smart contracts on Bitcoin.

 events begin, reducing mining incentives by half and occurring roughly every four years. While lowering mining incentives, halving also serves as a reminder of Bitcoin's finite supply and potentially even greater value over time.

 protocol is launched, which not only imprints serial numbers on 

 for easier tracking but also enables inscriptions to individual satoshis to transform them into 

What Would the Bitcoin Pizza Be Worth Now?

Despite his lofty goal of switching people’s perception of Bitcoin from a speculative coin to a transactional one, Laszlo Hanyecz never expected that the price of Bitcoin would one day top $69,000. Nevertheless, thanks to his spending 10,000 BTC, Bitcoin Pizza Day has become an internationally celebrated annual event. 

This astounding growth in Bitcoin’s price placed the total potential cost of his two pizzas at more than $680 million at Bitcoin's peak price. As of May 5, 2023, Bitcoin's price is $28,276. If Hanyecz had held onto his Bitcoin rather than buying his pizza, it would be worth more than $280 million today. 

When Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC from Jeremy Sturdivant on May 22, 2010, the entire Bitcoin pizza transaction was valued at $41. With the astounding increase in Bitcoin’s price over the years, the renowned Bitcoin pizza purchase has retroactively proven to be the most expensive in history.

While the payor in the transaction has received plenty of attention for the events that led up to the celebrated Pizza Day, the recipient of those 10,000 BTC also ultimately missed out on a sizable cryptocurrency fortune. 

Like Hanyecz, Sturdivant sold the bitcoins far too early, spending the full 10,000 BTC he received for the transaction on travel.

While many people regret their missed opportunities for incredible wealth, both men involved in the Bitcoin pizza transaction look at it in a different light. Hanyecz sees himself as a Bitcoin pioneer, and Sturdivant stated in an 

 that he’s proud to have played a role in Bitcoin's growth and history.

Bitcoin Pizza Day is a significant milestone that signifies the journey of Bitcoin's adoption and reputation as digital gold, while symbolizing the broader impact of cryptocurrencies on our society. By reflecting on this event, supporters of Bitcoin are encouraged to maintain a long-term perspective, understanding that significant gains often require one to endure market volatility. Bitcoin Pizza Day is a potent reminder for crypto enthusiasts to be patient with their holdings.

Bitcoin Pizza Day: A Slice of Crypto History

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards