Ethereum surged 29% this week, breaking a 10-week downtrend and catching short sellers off guard with $400M liquidated. 

The S&P 500 extended its rally with a nine-day winning streak, its longest since 2004, as optimism over potential trade deals and upcoming Fed and earnings updates lifted sentiment. Gold rose to $3,245 on trade uncertainty and Fed rate cut hopes. CoinDesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, fell 1.50% in the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ether dropped 0.10% and 0.51%, respectively. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is AI16Z, which surged 7.0% after Bonsai's smart media protocol integrated with Eliza to empower agent-driven social content creation.

elizaOS (AI16Z), launched in October 2024, formerly ai16z, is a Solana-based DApp that uses a DAO and an AI agent, "Marc AIndreessen," to manage community-driven investments in tech and crypto projects. 

, lets developers create agent-driven social media scripts and templates using ElizaOS plugins. The Bonsai Client, its first implementation, enables easy deployment of these smart media agents on platforms like Lens. Builders can explore these tools and compete for prizes in the Lens Spring Hackathon.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

Ethereum surged 29% this week, breaking a 10-week downtrend and catching short sellers off guard with $400M liquidated. Despite muted ETF flows and neutral derivatives sentiment, ETH’s dominance remains unshaken—boasting $64B in TVL, dwarfing Solana, BNB Chain, and Tron combined. With fresh momentum from the recent pectra upgrades and Trump distancing from rival altcoins, all eyes are now on a potential push toward $2,700. 

BTC spot ETFs saw $920.9M in net inflows this week, driven by $1.09B into non-GBTC funds despite $171.5M outflows from GBTC. Since inception, total net inflows stand at $41.1B.

 are now live and claimable as a small bonus for users farming the upcoming Aster (AST) airdrop. By depositing BNB to mint asBNB, users can start earning points toward both the main airdrop and future ecosystem rewards. Optional perp trading can boost points further, but simply holding asBNB is enough to qualify.

Beginner

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Ethereum outperforms with a 20% rally as fresh capital flows in and undervaluation signals flash

Our monthly report delves into insights from options volatility to inspire your next crypto move.

: April 2025 saw BTC's implied volatility surge above 75% due to tariff chaos, but it collapsed to 35% within a week, indicating a surprising short-term drop in volatility expectations despite ongoing macro uncertainty.

: BTC's return above $100K was met with muted enthusiasm in the derivatives market, suggesting that 

traders no longer view this level as a significant psychological barrier, and the rally isn’t likely to be sustained.

: ETH significantly outperformed BTC with a 23% rally, leading to increased demand for short-dated calls and a positive shift in the options market, highlighting renewed bullish sentiment.

: Historical trends suggest a potential summer lull in volatility in store for BTC, raising questions about whether this pattern will repeat in 2025 amidst ongoing macroeconomic challenges.

Bitcoin’s volatility plunges in late April

April 2025 witnessed significant volatility in the cryptocurrency market, particularly influenced by US trade policies. As President Trump announced steep reciprocal tariffs, the crypto landscape experienced sharp fluctuations. Bitcoin (BTC) initially demonstrated resilience, despite widespread sell-offs in equities and the US dollar, only to succumb to a decline from $88K to $75K by early April. This period was characterized by a dramatic rise in implied volatility that peaked above 75% as traders sought protection through short-dated puts. However, as the tariffs faced moderation, implied volatility plummeted to 35% by mid-April, marking the lowest level since early March.

Interestingly, while short-tenor volatility collapsed, 

the back end of BTC's term structure remained elevated, signaling that market participants expect heightened volatility in the mid-term

. Amidst this backdrop, realized volatility fell below the five-year seasonal average, paralleling similar trends in previous years and suggesting a 

. The historical pattern contrasts that BTC often experiences a rebound in volatility heading into May, raising questions about whether this trend will persist.

Subdued derivative response suggests Bitcoin rally might not endure

The market's reaction to BTC's resurgence above the $100K threshold was notably subdued compared to previous instances. While BTC rallied 20% following the initial tariff sell-off, the derivatives market displayed a muted response. The 25-delta put/call skew, a measure of market sentiment, indicated only a slight bias toward out-of-the-money calls, contrasting sharply with sentiment previously when BTC first breached the $100K mark in December 2024. This lack of exuberance suggests that traders no longer view $100K as a significant inflection point, raising concerns about the sustainability of the rally. 

Meanwhile, funding rates and implied volatility — though still bullish — didn’t reach the extremes observed in earlier months, indicating more cautious market sentiment. The relationship between BTC's spot price and implied volatility suggests that although traders are optimistic, they’re waiting for BTC to approach previous all-time highs before adjusting their volatility expectations.

Ethereum's option data points to further rally

In stark contrast to BTC, Ethereum (ETH) displayed remarkable resilience and outperformed major cryptocurrencies, gaining 23% overnight following favorable trade news. This rally catalyzed a surge in demand for short-dated calls, pushing front-end volatility expectations significantly higher. The response from the derivatives market was robust, inverting the term structure and indicating renewed bullish sentiment toward ETH, even as it’s trading well below its all-time high.

The ETH options market exhibited a shift from neutral to slightly negative skew, to a 10% bias favoring out-of-the-money calls, reflecting the market's confidence in ETH's potential to regain lost ground. Despite overall macroeconomic uncertainty, the demand for ETH options suggests that traders are optimistic about Ether’s future price movements.

In conclusion, April 2025 highlighted the complex interplay between macroeconomic factors and cryptocurrency market dynamics. While BTC faced challenges in eliciting strong responses from derivatives markets upon recrossing the $100K threshold, ETH's performance indicated a divergence in market sentiment. As traders navigate the evolving landscape, the potential for seasonal volatility patterns and the influence of macroeconomic developments will remain critical factors in shaping future market expectations.

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Bybit X Block Scholes options volatility report (April 2025): Data suggests Bitcoin rally might not endure, but Ether sees further upside

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.

After mostly trading sideways at the end of April 2025, a US-UK trade deal sparked a crypto rally. BTC surged past $100K for the first time since February, but it’s ETH's performance that captured the derivatives market's attention. 

A 23% increase in ETH's spot price led to an inverted term structure and a spike in front-end volatility. The put/call skew for ETH shifted from a bearish bias to a nearly 10% skew toward OTM calls. Other sentiment indicators, such as perp funding rates and futures yield, also supported the rally. In contrast, while BTC's funding rates and skew have increased, its implied volatility remains low at 40%, over 30 points below ETH's 7-day implied volatility.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

ETH’s record performance since 2021 was propelled by positive term structure

ETH has significantly outperformed BTC and the top 10 cryptocurrencies, marking its largest single-day gain since May 2021. The options market has reflected this enthusiasm, with implied volatility for short tenors rising sharply and inverting ETH’s term structure, thus contrasting with BTC's muted, positively sloped structure. The 7-day tenor for ETH is now trading at a 33-point premium over that for BTC. 

While puts dominate BTC's open interest, ETH is seeing the opposite trend. On May 8, 2025, options volumes surged over $120M, more than double the typical monthly volume, with $60M more in calls than puts. ETH now boasts a positive futures curve and funding rates, as well as a strong skew toward OTM calls.

ETH sees exceptionally bullish put/call skew

ETH's substantial outperformance in the current crypto rally has led to bullish sentiment in its derivatives markets. Funding rates have surged, futures yields are strongly positive and the put/call skew has shifted significantly toward OTM calls, now close to 10%. This starkly contrasts with early April, when the skew was 20% toward OTM puts. Although ETH has underperformed (relative to BTC and other "ETH killers"), it has rebounded in this rally, with the ETH/BTC ratio rising after spending most of the year declining.

Open interest for Bitcoin options increased, with implied volatility remaining suppressed

The announcement of the new US administration's first trade deal, nearly 30 days into Trump's 90-day tariff pause, jolted crypto markets, pushing BTC back up above $100K. Surprisingly, implied volatility has remained suppressed, failing to invert BTC's term structure, with front-end volatility trading at around an 18-month low of 35-40%. On May 8, 2025, options volumes surged, with call volume reaching $189M, reversing last week's trend of higher put volumes. Meanwhile, open interest rose steadily to exceed $300M, the highest level this month, but remains significantly larger for puts than for calls despite the price increase.

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (May 9, 2025): Ether’s put/call skew turns remarkably more bullish than Bitcoin’s

This article explores how Sign works, its flagship products (such as TokenTable, SignPass and EthSign), its native token (SIGN) and how to trade SIGN on Bybit.

Sign is an omnichain attestation infrastructure that empowers users and developers to verify real-world claims on-chain. Built for a more transparent and decentralized future, it eliminates the need to “just trust” and enables everyone to verify with cryptographic proof.

This article explores how Sign works, its flagship products (such as TokenTable and EthSign), its native token (SIGN) and how to trade SIGN on Bybit.

 is an omnichain attestation protocol designed to make it easy for anyone to verify the authenticity of any claim — 

. Whether it’s a document, credential or user identity, Sign transforms traditional trust models into verifiable, cryptographic attestations. 

Sign’s mission is to replace outdated, opaque validation systems with transparent, 

 proof — enabling a future where “verify” replaces “trust.” Through tools like schema registries and digital signatures, Sign empowers users to bring accountability and integrity to digital interactions.

Sign is developed by the team behind EthSign, a 

-native e-signature and agreement platform. Its core team brings deep experience in 

 development and cross-chain integrations.

The project is backed by top-tier investors, including Sequoia Capital China (now known as HongShan Capital Group), Mirana Ventures, HashKey Capital and Hack VC.

This strategic funding positions Sign as a foundational layer in the web3 infrastructure stack.

Sign allows users to create attestations — cryptographically signed statements that prove the validity of claims, such as credentials, achievements or actions. These digital proofs can be verified by anyone at any time, making them tamperproof and transparent.

Sign’s key technical elements include a schema registry that ensures consistent data formatting, digital signatures proving authenticity, and on- and off-chain attestations with support for revocation or updates

This system acts like a programmable layer for web3, bringing a new level of trust to identity, credentials and data exchange.

TokenTable is Sign’s flagship token distribution platform. It helps projects unlock, distribute and manage tokens transparently and securely at scale.

It uses Sign’s attestation engine to verify token unlocks, 

 and vesting schedules, ensuring traceable, auditable token flows.

SignPass is a blockchain-based identity solution that brings real-world credentials on-chain. One notable implementation is the Sierra Leone PR Card, used for the world’s first government-approved on-chain permanent residency program.

SignPass offers encrypted on-chain records for easy 

 verification, physical ID issuance for daily identity use and streamlined digital application systems for cross-border access.

It showcases the way blockchain can modernize public sector services worldwide.

EthSign is a decentralized contract signing platform that lets users create, sign and store legally binding agreements directly on-chain. It removes intermediaries and ensures documents are immutable and accessible.

EthSign reinforces Sign’s mission by bringing traditional documentation into the realm of verifiable web3 attestations.

The SIGN token is the native utility token powering the Sign ecosystem. It’s used for:

The total supply is capped at 10 billion SIGN, with 1.2 billion tokens in circulation. While the fully diluted valuation (FDV) sits above $746 million as of May 7, the circulating market cap is approximately $89.6 million. SIGN continues to gain traction across exchanges and developer networks.

SIGN is available for trading on Bybit via Spot trading and as a USDT Perpetual contract. Bybit offers up to 75x leverage for the SIGNUSDT Perpetual contract and supports secure, high-liquidity spot trading.

Start exploring the future of attestations with SIGN on Bybit today.

Intermediate

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Sign (SIGN): Web3 protocol for trustless attestation

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Bybit Guide

Earn passive risk-free income by pledging stETH using Bybit Crypto Loans and staking through Bybit Earn ETH 2.0 Liquid Staking. Learn how it works.

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As a holder of ETH, you may want to stake your ETH to earn rewards for validation transactions. However, staking your ETH also means locking it up for an indefinite period, limiting your liquidity and flexibility. Fortunately, Bybit crypto loans are one of the few leaders in the crypto market offering an income-generating solution through stETH collateralized loans.

stETH is a tokenized version of ETH that represents your stake in the Ethereum 2.0 network with Lido, a decentralized staking protocol. If you're interested in earning higher yields and passive income with stETH holdings, you need a provider that accepts stETH as collateral. 

By borrowing against your stETH collateral, you leverage your stETH holdings to generate additional income, while still earning rewards from staking. Funds borrowed with stETH collateral can be used for trading or other investments and to maximize your risk-free return.

This article will provide an overview of Bybit stETH collateralized crypto loans, how they operate, and how to earn essentially risk-free passive income with stETH. We'll also cover how to manage risks and overcome potential challenges, as well as tips and best practices for maximizing stETH collateralized loans. 

Crypto loans are decentralized finance services that enable users to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies without intermediaries or credit checks. Smart contracts enforce loan terms, and the goal is to provide users with liquidity and leverage to access capital for trading or other investments. The 

 promises significant improvements to crypto lending and the 

Ethereum 2.0 is an upgrade to the Ethereum network aimed at enhancing scalability, security and sustainability by transitioning from 

 (PoS). With a PoS consensus, validators stake their coins to validate transactions and create new blocks on the blockchain. Becoming a validator on Ethereum 2.0 requires staking a minimum of 32 ETH in addition to considerable technical expertise and resources. However, services like Lido and 

 simplify the staking process for users who lack the necessary resources by allowing them to stake ETH with a pool of professional validators and issuing stETH tokens in return. 

stETH allows users to stake their ETH without running validators or sacrificing liquidity. The tokens represent the user's share of the staked ETH pool and can be transferred, traded, or used as collateral for crypto loans on Bybit. The value of stETH tokens is pegged 1:1 to ETH and includes rewards earned from validating transactions. Users can redeem stETH tokens for ETH by sending them back to Bybit Earn ETH 2.0 Liquid Staking. 

How Does Bybit stETH Collateralized Loans Work?

Bybit's stETH loans offer investors an opportunity to deposit their stETH tokens as collateral to borrow or lend. Borrowed funds can be used for purposes like trading, hedging or arbitrage. If you’re a lender, you have the freedom to set your desired interest rates and loan durations and receive interest payments from borrowers on a daily basis.

The interest rate for stETH collateralized loans is influenced by market supply and demand, as well as the risk profiles of borrowers. By accessing the Bybit stETH loan platform, lenders can stay informed about current market rates and expected annualized returns. While higher interest rates present the potential for greater returns, they also come with increased risks of default or liquidation.

Lenders retain complete flexibility and control over their loan terms. These include determining the loan duration, setting minimum and maximum interest rates, and opting for auto-renewal. At any time, lenders can adjust their loan duration, based on market conditions and personal preferences, either by extending or shortening it. Additionally, lenders can choose the auto-renewal option, which automatically matches their loans with new borrowers once the current loans expire.

To secure their loans, borrowers are required to deposit collateral. The collateral ratio represents the percentage of the loan value covered by the provided collateral. If the collateral ratio falls below a predetermined threshold, the borrower faces liquidation, and the lender is repaid with the collateral. Borrowers can easily monitor their loans and collateral ratios on the Bybit stETH loan platform. Once the loans are repaid, they can withdraw their stETH tokens at any time.

Bybit allows you to pledge your stETH as collateral when borrowing. This means you can increase yields while still participating in the staking process. You will earn risk-free income by arbitraging the yield received staking ETH with the borrowing cost when pledging stETH. Depending on your VIP level, you can access steadily higher yields. The process is straightforward: 

For example, if initially pledging 100 stETH, you’ll max out at depositing 285.7142857 stETH and borrowing 185.7142857 ETH. Here’s your profit potential, depending on your VIP level:

The rates are only for illustration purposes. For further details on crypto loan data, please refer 

You can alternatively use your borrowed ETH for trading or investments, to diversify your portfolio, or to explore other crypto assets or platforms. Bybit also provides opportunities for various trading strategies using borrowed ETH. 

However, borrowing ETH comes with risks, such as paying interest on your loan and maintaining sufficient collateral. Before deciding to borrow ETH, it's important to consider the potential profits and costs, and assess the overall financial implications to ensure it aligns with your investment strategy and risk tolerance.

Managing Risks and Mitigating Potential Challenges

While using stETH as collateral on Bybit Loans can offer many benefits, it also comes with some risks and challenges such as market volatility and potential loan losses: 

The crypto market is highly volatile and unpredictable, which means that the value of your collateral and loan currency can change significantly in a short period of time. If the value of your collateral drops below a certain level, your loan may be liquidated and you may lose your collateral.

Borrowing from Bybit Loans can increase your exposure to the Ethereum ecosystem, which may be desirable or undesirable depending on your risk appetite and investment goals. You should always diversify your portfolio and allocate your funds wisely to avoid overexposure or underexposure to any single asset or market.

Tips and Best Practices for Maximizing stETH Crypto Loans

To make the most out of your stETH collateralized crypto loans on Bybit, here are some tips and best practices that you should follow:

Real Case of a Successful stETH Loan Utilization

If you can borrow at 3.27% and lend at 6.22%, the differential contributes to your risk-free yield.

By effectively borrowing ETH at a lower rate and lending at a higher rate, you’ve secured a profitable arbitrage opportunity, capitalizing on DeFi market inefficiencies. Maximize your risk-free return through these interest rate differentials.

stETH crypto loans on Bybit are a great way to earn passive income with your crypto assets. You can borrow ETH with low interest rates and flexible terms and use it for trading or other investments. When you pledge stETH, you can enjoy the benefits of staking ETH without locking up your funds or compromising your security.

However, borrowing ETH from Bybit Loans also involves some risks and challenges that you need to be aware of and prepare for. Always do your due diligence, monitor market conditions and interest rates, and create a balanced loan strategy.

How to Start Earning With stETH Collateralized Loans on Bybit

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