Low Appetite for Risk as Crypto Searches for Next Catalyst

With spot prices now in a consolidation phase following the sharp and violent selloff in early February, traders in options markets are showing a lack of interest.

BTC has spent the past two weeks rangebound between $65K and $70K, while ETH trades around the $2,000 mark. 

ATM implied volatility levels have plunged off from their extreme 2022-esque highs, with traders anticipating far less volatility in the short-to-mid term, compared to only two weeks ago. The term structure of volatility for all three majors, BTC, ETH and SOL, is flat and compressed, while (as expected in a ~50% drawdown from all-time highs), volatility smiles are still skewed towards put options.