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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Crypto

The potential approval of a Litecoin Spot ETF could provide institutional and retail investors with a regulated, accessible way to gain exposure to Litecoin.

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 may be on the verge of a breakthrough. The crypto world is buzzing with excitement over the potential approval of a Litecoin Spot ETF, fueled by the SEC’s acknowledgment of filings and growing institutional interest. This article discusses what a Litecoin Spot ETF is, where things stand and how it could open the door to mainstream adoption and drive price surges. Could this be the transformative moment Litecoin has been waiting for?

 investment that directly holds Litecoin (LTC), allowing investors to gain exposure to its price movements without having to buy and manage the cryptocurrency itself.

, which derive their value from a crypto token’s 

 contracts, a spot ETF holds the actual cryptocurrency. This structure ensures that the ETF’s price closely tracks the real-time market price (in this case, of Litecoin), which provides a more accurate and transparent investment vehicle for both retail and institutional investors

Litecoin Spot ETFs, like other ETFs, would operate by holding an actual crypto asset — in this case, Litecoin (LTC) — in a secure custodial account, typically managed by a trusted financial institution or custodian. This would allow you to invest in Litecoin without needing to buy or store the cryptocurrency yourself. Instead, the financial institution holds actual Litecoin in a secure custodial account, and the ETF provider creates shares that represent a proportional claim on those reserves. These shares are listed and then traded on traditional stock exchanges, so you can buy and sell them just as you would with any stock.

A Spot Litecoin ETF’s share price is designed to track Litecoin’s real-time market value, minus a small daily management fee. This share price is determined by taking the total worth of the Litecoin that’s being held, subtracting any accrued fees and then dividing by the number of shares available. The management fee is deducted by effectively selling a tiny fraction of Litecoin each day, which means that over time, the Spot ETF’s net asset value (NAV) may lag slightly behind Litecoin’s spot price. 

To keep the ETF closely aligned with Litecoin’s market price, large institutional players known as authorized participants (APs) step in. APs buy or sell shares to exploit any price discrepancies. This 

 process ensures that the Spot ETF’s trading price remains in sync with Litecoin’s real-time value.

When you invest by buying shares of a Litecoin Spot ETF, the issuer will use your money to acquire more Litecoin, which is then added to the reserve backing the ETF, thereby increasing it. Conversely, when investors sell, the issuer may liquidate a corresponding amount of Litecoin to return cash. This setup provides investors exposure to Litecoin’s price movements without the hassle of buying, storing and managing LTC directly.

A Litecoin Spot ETF would also offer the benefits of regulatory oversight, in addition to greater accessibility as compared to trading on cryptocurrency exchanges. 

The concept of a Spot ETF isn’t new in the crypto space. 

, with several approved in various jurisdictions. However, Litecoin’s unique reputation as "the silver to Bitcoin's gold" makes it an attractive candidate for a Spot ETF. Moreover, its lower transaction fees and faster block times only add to its appeal.

With the success of Bitcoin Spot ETFs over the past year, the appetite for crypto-centric investment products has been on the rise. Litecoin is currently on the radar now, with 

 leading the charge with the first application for a spot Litecoin ETF in October 2024. Their request was subsequently listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) system under the LTCC ticker. This listing is a preparatory step, indicating readiness for potential trading upon approval. Following Canary Capital's lead, other major asset managers, 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally acknowledged these filings, initiating a review process that can take up to 240 days. This acknowledgment suggests a more favorable regulatory environment, especially with recent administrative changes under President Donald Trump's administration, which is perceived as crypto-friendly. 

Still, the SEC has historically been cautious about approving crypto-related ETFs, due to concerns over market manipulation, custody and investor protection. However, growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies and the approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs have sparked optimism for Litecoin Spot ETFs within the near future.

Analysts are optimistic about the prospects of approval. Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas 

 of SEC approval for a Spot Litecoin ETF by the end of 2025. This optimism is partly due to Litecoin's classification as a commodity by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a categorization that may align more closely with SEC regulatory standards. 

Current Impact of Litecoin Spot ETF Applications on Crypto Markets

Anticipation surrounding a potential Litecoin Spot ETF has significantly boosted Litecoin's market performance. Recent developments — such as Canary Capital's ETF listing on the DTCC platform under the ticker LTCC — have intensified speculation about imminent approval. This optimism is reflected in Litecoin’s price, which has doubled since the first filing with the SEC. Some analysts predict the price 

 this year, driven mostly by the spot ETF applications. Litecoin’s market cap has also surged over 46% in February 2025 alone, climbing to $9.48 billion.

However, while the prospect of a Litecoin Spot ETF has injected bullish sentiment into the market, it's essential to approach this potential development with cautious optimism. The 

, and while current trends are promising, they’re subject to rapid changes based on regulatory decisions and broader market conditions.

As of Feb 25, 2025, LTC is trading at $115.55, reflecting the market's positive response to these recent developments.

What Will It Mean If a Litecoin Spot ETF Application Is Approved?

The potential approval of a Litecoin Spot ETF would signify a key milestone for Litecoin (LTC) and the broader crypto market. It carries significant implications for both investors and the broader cryptocurrency market.

While the approval of a Litecoin Spot ETF could democratize access to Litecoin investments, enhance market liquidity and signify a positive shift in regulatory attitudes toward cryptocurrencies, potential investors are advised to approach with care. The performance of any crypto spot ETF is subject to crypto market volatility and fluctuations. Investors need to 

Looking to capture the market and trade LTC tokens? Bybit offers the 

The potential approval of a Litecoin Spot ETF could mark a major turning point for Litecoin and the broader crypto market. Institutional interest and SEC acknowledgment have already fueled price surges and optimism. If approved, such an ETF would boost accessibility, increase market liquidity and strengthen regulatory confidence, and these developments could drive mainstream adoption. However, regulatory hurdles remain, and while prospects are promising, investors should exercise prudence and due diligence. Whether this is Litecoin’s breakout moment depends upon final SEC decisions and broader market dynamics.

Litecoin Spot ETF Approval: Could This Be LTC's Breakout Moment?

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