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

GameFi

Altcoins

The GameSwift ecosystem is built to elevate the gaming experience with its seamless Layer 1 PoS modular blockchain network and zkEVM rollups.

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As game developers increasingly move into the web3 space, the need for a fast, reliable and low-cost infrastructure is taking center stage. GameSwift is a modular blockchain network that enhances the gaming experience by seamlessly integrating smooth blockchain technology, making it virtually imperceptible to gamers. Gamers can fully immerse themselves in gaming while developers benefit from comprehensive support offered by the platform.

 is a modular blockchain platform that’s revolutionizing the 

 blockchain infrastructure facilitates better gameplay and interaction for users, while supporting enhanced game creation for developers.

 modular chain to tackle the many drawbacks associated with traditional blockchains. Compared to typical monolithic blockchains, the GameSwift Chain is more efficient and scalable. Its reliable network infrastructure also offers developers enhanced security and seamless 

 integration. Gamers benefit from zero gas fees, which supports a superior gaming experience. 

The GameSwift infrastructure enables users to enjoy gaming to the fullest without having to navigate through the usual complex blockchain processes, such as switching between chains or even creating a crypto wallet. All they have to do is to log in with one click with their Apple, Google or Facebook IDs to start playing — and withdraw their earnings with one simple click. 

Traditional, monolithic blockchains utilize one chain for data availability, consensus, settlement and execution. 

 network, which means that it uses separate chains for each function, enhancing the entire network's speed and efficiency. 

In addition, the GameSwift platform is scalable to allow for optimized speed. In fact, scalability is improved up to 10,000 times as compared to monolithic blockchains. The network also integrates zkEVM rollups. This ensures security for every game, even if the games are built on a separate chain, since the zkEVM rollups tap on the security of the GameSwift mainnet. This allows game developers to focus on building the best features for their games instead of having to think about the security of their games.

GameSwift is blazing the way for improved web3 gaming. Its core features support a seamless user experience and enhanced development for games. Let’s look at the primary elements of the GameSwift ecosystem.

The GameSwift Chain is a Layer 1 PoS blockchain network that stands apart from other blockchains with its modular infrastructure and zkEVM rollup chains. The GameSwift Chain itself functions as the settlement layer, while the zkEVM rollups operate as the execution layers. This enables the network to scale more efficiently as consensus, execution and settlement are all performed concurrently. The GameSwift Chain also fosters interoperability, allowing games to engage with different blockchain networks effortlessly. 

Web 2.0 gaming centers like Steam have a simplified sign-on process, but this isn’t the case for most web3 platforms. With GameSwift ID, signing on is equally straightforward and secure. You won’t need to go through multiple steps to access the GameSwift Chain, which makes this platform superior to other web3 platforms. Each user has a single gaming identity and password to access all games and DApps. With the same GameSwift ID, users can also access different web3 wallets, from 

GameSwift SDK is the developer toolbelt that enables fast, high-quality, secure DApp building without the need for deep knowledge of programming languages. Some SDK tools that developers can access are Token and NFT Deployer, Advanced Analytics Access, Unreal, Unity Game Engine Connector and others. Using these tools, developers save weeks or more when creating and integrating their projects. 

GameSwift Analytics offers benefits for both gamers and developers or gaming studios. 

Gamers can monitor their gaming progress — from stats to in-game digital assets and achievements — on a personalized hub. From there, they can also share all this information with their fellow gaming friends to form strong gaming teams. 

Meanwhile, developers and gaming studios can access information about player behavior and other detailed analytics to optimize their game development. 

GSWIFT is the native token of the GameSwift Chain. This multi-utility token is used to stake and validate blockchain transactions, support community governance and pay fees. When you stake your GSWIFT tokens in the 

, you get to earn rewards in the form of different gaming tokens from every supported game. In addition, 10% of the platform's total returns are distributed to stakers. As an omnichain token, GSWIFT can easily be moved between supported chains, such as 

GSWIFT has a total supply of 1,396,500,000 tokens, which are distributed as shown in the figure below:

Web 2.0 gaming platforms like Steam have been popular in the gaming community for years, but the transition to web3 gaming is well underway. GameSwift has launched in partnership with Arbitrum and Polygon to propel both gaming and game development experiences. 

 that approximately 51% of blockchain usage is for gaming, and growth in this area is likely to continue into 2023 and beyond. Thus far, growth in the web3 gaming sector has been kept in check due to high fees, slow transaction times and the need for multiple IDs and passwords. GameSwift addresses these issues with features such as an advanced gaming protocol, GameSwift ID and analytical capabilities, while simplifying the web3 gaming process to attract both crypto and non-crypto gamers. 

Unlike traditional game models that require new token generation for rewards, GameSwift ensures sustainable revenue by encouraging active participation in maintaining the network via staking, which in turn brings stakers both platform revenue rewards and gaming token rewards. 

GameSwift's robust partnerships, advanced gaming-optimized technology and sustainable tokenomics make it a compelling investment opportunity. However, given the inherent volatility of 

, always exercise caution when considering investing in them.

You can buy GSWIFT tokens from major exchanges like Bybit. GSWIFT can be purchased as a Spot pair on Bybit (

 you have a chance to earn from a 50,000 USDT prize pool. New users can earn up to 40 USDT simply by 

, then depositing or trading a minimum of 100 USDT worth of GSWIFT. 

Meanwhile, existing users can earn 20 USDT by accumulating a deposit of 100 USDT worth of GSWIFT, or using 100 USDT to buy GSWIFT. 

Modular blockchain networks are the future of web3 gaming, and the GameSwift Chain is at the forefront of this transition. With exciting improvements for developers and users alike, GameSwift is a web3 platform for all gaming enthusiasts to watch.

GameSwift (GSWIFT): Optimizing Web3 Gaming Experience

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards