Bybit x Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Aug 22, 2025): Traders brace for further slide as 90-day BTC skew turns negative

Key Highlights:

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.

Cryptocurrency spot prices began declining on Aug 14, 2025, following a hotter-than-expected PPI inflation report — the sharpest wholesale inflation rise since June 2022. The sell-off has continued more gradually this week, as traders await Fed Chair Powell’s upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium for guidance on US monetary policy. 

Derivatives data are reflecting heightened uncertainty around the economy and inflation, with reduced appetite for aggressive market positioning. Open interest in perpetual futures has dropped to $14B, without major liquidations, indicating traders are remaining cautious. Daily trading volumes have fallen and funding rates briefly turned negative, while options markets show a clear tilt toward downside protection. Bearish sentiment in BTC and ETH options is evident not only in short-tenor volatility smiles favoring out-of-the-money puts, but also across longer maturities, with the 90-day BTC skew turning negative — signaling expectations of further declines ahead.

Please check out the report’s highlights.