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

Crypto Insights

Jito (JTO), founded in 2021, is a DeFi platform built on the Solana blockchain. It incorporates a liquid staking protocol that leverages staking and MEV strategies, enabling users to earn returns by temporarily locking their cryptocurrency tokens. 

JTO Jumps 31.0% After Enhancing DeFi Bridging Efficiency With Jito Labs

, founded in 2021, is a DeFi platform built on the Solana blockchain. It incorporates a liquid staking protocol that leverages staking and 

 strategies, enabling users to earn returns by temporarily locking their cryptocurrency tokens. 

 recently integrated Jito Labs' infrastructure to enhance efficiency in bridging Solana's long-tail and 

, allowing for atomic cross-chain trades with optimized pricing. This addresses previous trading limitations for volatile assets by removing transaction size restrictions. The solution enables seamless and efficient trading across chains, improving the DeFi ecosystem's accessibility and liquidity. 

 provides the infrastructure to support these advancements, contributing to the scalability and efficiency of Solana's DeFi transactions. Check out more on 

CORE Surges by 35.5% Following the Launch of Core Ignition

 (CORE), launched on January 14, 2023, aims to transform 

 design by offering scalability, security and independence. It achieves this through a hybrid mechanism that integrates 

 (PoW) and delegated proof of stake (DPoS) systems. Core has opened Core Ignition to the public, promoting active participation in the 

 revolution on the Core Chain. This initiative rewards users for engaging in activities such as staking, gaming and NFT minting. Participating and/or referring friends increases your Core Ignition Score, which determines rewards based on ecosystem involvement. This phase aims to expand the DeFi ecosystem on Core Chain, inviting all to join and earn rewards.

Pendle Jumps 29.4% After Achieving Explosive Growth With $4 Billion TVL and $10 Billion in Trading Volume

 (PENDLE), launched in June 2022, is a DeFi protocol on Ethereum for tokenised yield trading that allows users to split assets into Principal Tokens (PT) and Yield Tokens (YT) for flexible trading and various yield strategies. Its platform supports Arbitrum. In April, Pendle has rapidly grown to $4 billion in TVL and $10 billion in trading volume by allowing users to trade yield from yield-bearing assets separately. Benefiting from the 

 boom, it has become a key player in the market, with significant holdings in wrapped Ether (weETH) and a substantial contribution from trading tokens related to the synthetic dollar protocol Ethena.

Pendle has also introduced innovative features such as leveraged points trading, which has contributed to its growth. The platform's success is reflected in the steady rise of its token price from just over $1 to above $5 this year. Seraphim C, Head of Growth at Ethena Labs, recently inquired about the community's interest in trading Pendle's USDe PT and YT tokens if Pendle were to expand to Solana, suggesting that Pendle's collaboration with Ethena isn’t limited to Ethereum. Pendle has shown substantial growth with a $4 billion TVL, $393K in daily fees ($24 million annualised) and $244 million in daily yield trading volume. With Version 3 and a potential Solana expansion on the horizon, Pendle's momentum is strong.

FLR Rises by 8.34% After the FTSOv2 Upgrade Elevates Decentralized Data Access in DeFi on Flare Network

, launched in July 2022, is a Layer 1 blockchain that emphasises 

 capabilities for blockchains such as XRP Ledger. It utilises the State Connector and Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) for data integration and runs on the 

The FTSOv2 upgrade enhances the FTSO with more frequent updates, expanded data feed coverage and improved performance, and focuses on decentralised, cost-efficient data access for DeFi applications. It ensures full network security for data feeds, supports high-frequency updates and maintains low gas consumption. Key features include anchor and stream updates, thus promoting accurate and rapid data accessibility. This advancement bolsters Flare's vision of providing a blockchain-based, decentralised data exchange framework, facilitating seamless cross-chain data interactions and expanding the blockchain's utility in various sectors.

BEL Jumps by 51.69% After Bella Protocol Announces Partnership Between Bella Protocol and Phoenix AlphaNet

Bella Protocol (BEL), launched in September 2020, stands out in the market by providing gas-free DeFi products. This innovative approach simplifies and optimises yield farming, improving liquidity and maximising returns for all investor levels. In a groundbreaking move, Bella Protocol and Phoenix AlphaNet are 

 to integrate AI into DeFi. This partnership will enhance Bella's liquidity provision and trading capabilities, offering crypto traders advanced tools and insights for market optimisation. By leveraging AlphaNet's diverse tech and partnerships, Bella aims to offer its users professional-grade trading strategies and superior risk-adjusted returns, marking a significant step toward integrating AI-driven applications in DeFi.

Nonfarm Payrolls in the U.S. rose by 303,000 in March, Far Exceeding 200,000 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released on Friday, nonfarm payrolls (NFP) in the U.S. experienced a significant increase of 303,000 in March 2024. This figure surpassed market expectations, which had predicted a smaller rise of 200,000. However, the initial growth figure for February, which was reported as 275,000, was later revised downward to 200,000.

In addition to the NFP data, the report also highlighted other key details. The unemployment rate in the U.S. declined from 3.9% to 3.8% in March, indicating a slight improvement in the labor market. Furthermore, the labor force participation rate increased from 62.5% to 62.7%, suggesting a rise in the proportion of the working-age population either employed or actively seeking employment.

Regarding wage inflation, the report indicated that the change in average hourly earnings resulted in a slight decrease, aligning with the forecasted rate of 4.1%. This measurement provides insight into the annual wage growth experienced by workers.

The U.S. services industry experienced a further slowdown in growth during March 2024, and businesses saw a drop in prices paid for inputs, reaching a four-year low. This development is positive for the outlook on inflation. According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the nonmanufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 51.4 last month from 52.6 in February 2024. This marks the second consecutive monthly decrease in the index, following a rebound in January.

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Dropped by 6.1% Month-Over-Month in January 2024

In January 2024, U.S. durable goods orders dropped by 6.1% month-over-month, exceeding the expected 4.5% decline and marking the steepest fall since April 2020. The drop was largely due to a downturn in transportation equipment orders, which fell by 16.2%. Moreover, this category's decrease experienced a significant impact from a 58.9% drop in nondefense aircraft and parts orders, as well as a slight reduction in orders for motor vehicles and parts. 

Additionally, there were declines in orders for fabricated metal products, primary metals and capital goods. However, excluding transportation, orders only dipped by 0.3%, and orders for nondefense capital goods (excluding aircraft) rose slightly by 0.1%, indicating a modest increase in business spending plans.

February 2024’s Job Openings Higher Than Expected

On Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), reporting that the number of job openings on the final business day of February 2024 was 8.75 million. This figure was slightly higher than the market's expectation of 8.74 million job openings. Additionally, in January there were 8.74 million job openings (revised from the initially reported 8.86 million).

April 2024 will see the launch of several highly anticipated 

 and Parcl, among others, with May expected to be even more eventful. A comprehensive list, excluding well-known ones like that of 

, is available for those interested in recent airdrops. The list features active airdrops from both mainnet projects, such as Elixir, 

 2, and testnet or unfunded projects, like 

, offering a wide range of participant opportunities.

Zeta Markets Announces the Upcoming $Z Token Airdrop

 Markets has announced the upcoming $Z token airdrop, offering users a chance to increase their airdrop allocation by trading on Zeta to accumulate 

. The more Z-Score you earn, the larger the allocation. Additionally, using the Backpack wallet for transactions on Zeta will grant an extra 1.1x Z-Score boost.

Omni Teases the Airdrop of the OMNI Token

Omni has confirmed its governance token, $OMNI, following the successful 

, which acted as the final stress test before its mainnet transition. An announcement for the Omni mainnet launch is expected soon, with more details on token distribution to follow. 

Omni Protocol has secured partnerships with leading projects like Burnt (XION), ether.fi and others, indicating potential significant growth for the $OMNI token. Testnet participants ("testnet users) are anticipated to benefit from these developments. Additionally, Omni Omega phase two has introduced a procedure for users to delegate testnet restaked ETH to Omni, including obtaining testnet ETH and delegating through the EigenLayer Testnet page. Future phases of Omni Omega are planned leading up to the mainnet launch.

 protocol introduced its W governance token via airdrop, with eligibility extending to over 400,000 wallets on Solana, Ethereum and beyond. The launch, scheduled for April 3, 2024, aims to distribute 617.3 million W tokens to its early adopters and several crypto communities, marking a significant event dubbed "Wormhole Wednesday." 

Following the airdrop, the W token will be available for spot trading on a selection of major cryptocurrency exchanges, enhancing its accessibility. Initially launched on the Solana SPL20 token standard, with plans to support Ethereum's ERC-20 standard, W's pre-market trading price reached $1.65. At this valuation, Wormhole anticipates a 

 of close to $3 billion at launch, potentially ranking the W token within the top 50 cryptocurrencies.

Parallel Network Launches Airdrop Campaign

, an omnichain restaking L2 platform, launched a testnet airdrop campaign last week, offering participants a chance to earn free airdrop allocations. Backed by major investors like Coinbase, Sequoia Capital and Polychain Capital, the platform has secured $30 million in funding. Participants can qualify for the airdrop by engaging with the Parallel testnet to accumulate points, with a higher point count leading to a larger airdrop share. The process involves bridging test ETH, using a special invite code to create a Parallel Wallet, claiming faucets and utilising the lending feature. 

For a detailed tutorial on how to qualify, refer to 

Stay tuned for more institutional insights and crypto updates next week!

Weekly Institutional Insights — Altcoins Fly Higher as TVL Continued to Climb; More Airdrops to Come as Bitcoin Regained $70k

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards