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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.
BTC’s return to $100K has done little to revive sentiment in derivatives markets. Open interest in perpetual futures remains subdued, with traders showing limited appetite to reenter positions following October’s $19B liquidation cascade.
However, the absence of a sharp decline in open interest suggests that the latest spot market drop was driven more by discretionary spot selling than by forced liquidations. In contrast, BTC and ETH options open interest has held up, indicating a shift toward using options for directional exposure.
Sources: Bybit, Block Scholes
After weeks of range-bound trading between $105K and $115K, BTC broke below support and swiftly retested $99K — a level last seen in June 2025. Unlike the $6B liquidation cascade on October 10, this week’s decline appears spot-driven, with just a $500M drop in perpetual open interest. Traders on Bybit remain hesitant to reenter, keeping futures OI well below pre-crash levels despite mildly positive funding rates. The lack of retail leverage and early signs of DAT firm selling add to the caution. Sequans offloaded 970 BTC from its treasury, while ETHZilla sold $40M in ETH to fund a share buyback — suggesting strategic repositioning rather than panic.
Sources: Bybit, Block Scholes
BTC options open interest has rebounded swiftly post-October expiration, signaling traders’ eagerness to regain exposure via options rather than perpetual futures. This preference was reinforced on Nov 4, 2025, when options volumes hit their highest levels since October 21 amid a 6% BTC drop and broader risk-asset sell-off.
The move triggered another blowout in the front end of the term structure, with short-tenor implied volatility spiking nearly 10 points to above 50%. Traders continue to price in near-term turbulence more aggressively than longer-term risk. Volatility smiles have skewed further toward out-of-the-money puts, underscoring a market gripped by caution and downside hedging.
Sources: Bybit, Block Scholes
ZCash (ZEC), the zero-knowledge proof–based privacy token launched in 2016, surged from $40 to $95 in early October 2025, and has since quadrupled in price, now trading above $400. Its rally has sparked renewed interest in privacy-focused tokens like FIRO and DASH. FIRO (formerly Zcoin) enhances anonymity by allowing users to burn and redeem tokens with no transaction history — an approach that goes beyond typical obfuscation methods. Despite a broader altcoin pullback, FIRO is up 239% over three months and 30% in the past week.
The rally in privacy tokens coincides with growing institutionalization of BTC and ETH via Spot ETFs and DAT firms, prompting early crypto advocates to seek alternatives that preserve decentralization and anonymity. This trend has been reinforced by a surge in Google searches for privacy-related crypto assets.
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