Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events, the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, as well as futures, options and perpetual contracts.

Markets faced a significant risk-off event early this week as DeepSeek's LLM announcement coincided with sharp declines in major indices and crypto markets. Despite the volatile sell-off in spot markets, open interest in perpetual swaps remained stable, with funding rates briefly turning negative before recovering. 

Options markets saw an increase in trading volume during the sell-off, although forward-looking volatility expectations declined. The period of positive funding rates for perpetuals ended due to bearish spot price action on Monday. In the options space, realized volatility fell below implied volatility, reflecting a small-scale repeat of the pre-inauguration term structure inversion. Notably, ETH options maintained a volatility premium over BTC options, while longer-dated volatility smiles exhibited a bullish skew toward out-of-the-money (OTM) calls.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Options open interest data shows minimal change over the past week, except for the expiration and reopening of short-dated options. Despite the largest single-day trading volumes in call options this month — nearly $250M during the spot price sell-off — trade volume did not significantly impact volatility, which has declined for both realized and implied metrics. Positioning has split between short- and longer-tenor volatility smiles. Short-tenor options are exhibiting lower volatility and a neutral skew, while longer-dated volatility smiles are reflecting increased volatility expectations and a persistent bullish skew toward OTM calls, as has been the case since the election.

ETH options trading volume has surged over the past week, marking its strongest levels in a month. While late December 2024 and early January 2025 saw robust activity, recent data indicates a more active calls market, with open interest remaining heavily weighted toward calls. The early-week global market sell-off briefly shifted short-tenor ETH volatility smiles away from calls, reminiscent of the volatility term structure inversion seen before the inauguration. Despite ETH's spot recovery being weaker than BTC's, its options have maintained higher volatility levels.

Following last week's rally in spot price due to the launch of two presidential meme coins, Solana's price has retreated with the broader crypto market. However, positioning from the rally remains largely unchanged, with open interest in puts and calls remaining elevated and trading activity surpassing pre-rally levels. The stable levels of newly opened put options likely reflect protective buying intended to hedge profitable long positions in other instruments.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Jan 29, 2025): Options Market Recovers From Monday’s Sell-Off

Phantom wallet has officially integrated Sui, making it the first Move-based blockchain and third Layer 1 supported on the platform. 

The S&P 500 fell 0.47% amid Fed rate pause and mixed tech earnings. Gold fell 0.4% as the dollar and Treasury yields rose after the Fed held rates steady, offering little clarity on future cuts. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 2.07%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising by 2.99% and 2.90%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is TAI, which surged nearly 38.6% following the unveiling of the Sona framework by TARS AI for cost-efficient AI computation.

TARS AI (TAI), launched in 2022, is a decentralized, multichain platform offering AI-powered tools to help web3 projects launch and manage tokens efficiently. Rebranded in 2023, it supports eight blockchains, including Ethereum and BNB Chain, with plans for expansion. TARS AI is set to 

 two custom frameworks in V1 of its AI Market, including Sona, a proprietary framework compatible with DeepSeek AI for efficient, low-cost computations. More details will be revealed in February.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

, making it the first Move-based blockchain and third Layer 1 supported on the platform. This gives Phantom’s 15 million users access to SUI, enabling them to send, receive, swap, and interact with Sui-based tokens and dApps. Sui has rapidly grown, reaching over $2 billion in TVL and becoming a major destination for Ethereum outflows. Phantom's CEO praised Sui’s scalability and user experience, aligning with their multichain vision. The integration marks a significant step in expanding Sui’s adoption and accessibility.

Yesterday, BTC Spot ETFs recorded $120.4M in inflows, entirely from non-GBTC funds.

 tasks to boost Grass points, offering up to 30% in bonuses. Users can earn boosts by swapping $10K on Lifinity, trading meme coins on Fighthorse, or betting $1K on Skate x Polymarket. These points may play a key role in the Eclipse airdrop.

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Phantom Wallet Integrates Sui, Expanding Access for 15 Million Users

Ondo Finance is deploying its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, OUSG, on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) within six months, expanding institutional access to tokenized real-world assets. 

Daily Top Performer — Movement Labs (MOVE)

The S&P 500 rose 0.92%, rebounding ahead of the Fed’s rate decision. Gold climbed 0.8% to $2,762.02 as tariff uncertainties boosted safe-haven demand. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was down by 0.32%, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 0.20% and 3.40%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is MOVE, which surged nearly 17.7% following the launch of Movement Network's Developer Mainnet, paving the way for the Public Beta.

Movement Labs (MOVE), founded in 2023, is a modular blockchain network powered by the Move language, aiming to enhance security, performance, and UX in decentralized networks. Its key products include Movement SDK, the M1 Layer 1 network, and M2, an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup. 

, allowing select developers to deploy apps and access new infrastructure. This phase builds on the Mainnet Beta and will run until mid-February. The next phase, Public Mainnet Beta, will introduce full permissionless app deployment and user onboarding. Movement Network is built for modularity, leveraging Celestia.

 its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, OUSG, on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) within six months, expanding institutional access to tokenized real-world assets. Backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, OUSG offers 24/7 minting and redemption via Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, enhancing liquidity and financial flexibility. The integration leverages XRPL’s institutional-grade infrastructure, compliance tools, and deep financial relationships to bridge DeFi and traditional finance, positioning XRPL as a key hub for tokenized assets.

BTC Spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $11.7 million, with no change in GBTC and all outflows from non-GBTC funds.

" quest is now live on Galxe, offering tasks to earn points that may be useful for a future airdrop. Participants can complete onchain transactions, explore dApps, join social activities, and more. Week 1 is already underway!

Ondo Finance Brings Tokenized U.S. Treasuries to XRP Ledger for Institutional DeFi

Altura (ALU) is a web3 gaming platform revolutionizing gaming with smart NFTs, AI-powered tools, and seamless blockchain integration for developers and gamers alike.

Over the years, the multibillion dollar gaming industry has undergone a significant shift with the emergence of 

 continues to revolutionize the way players interact with games.

Initially focused on integrating play-to-earn models and digital ownership, web3 

 projects have evolved into vibrant ecosystems powered by blockchain-based assets, such as 

 (NFTs), enabling true ownership and interoperability of in-game items.

With the onset of artificial intelligence (AI), we continue to witness the unlimited potential of technology in the gaming world. AI integration unlocks endless possibilities for the niche by bringing intelligence and adaptability.

 project that aims to elevate player experience by combining the power of NFTs with AI features to revolutionize how games are developed, played and monetized.

Let's learn more about how Altura is helping fuse the power of blockchain and AI technologies to unlock new possibilities in web3 gaming.

Altura is an all-in-one web3 gaming platform designed to leverage blockchain technology and AI to provide developers with everything they need to seamlessly create an interactive and engaging gameplay experience for their players.

Altura's robust SDK and API simplify the addition of web3 functionality to games, enabling seamless interaction with digital assets. Developers can launch custom marketplaces for their games without needing to write a single line of code, reducing complexity and the time required for development.

Among Altura's most outstanding features are its smart NFTs. Unlike traditional NFTs, which are static and non-transferable, smart NFTs are dynamic in-game assets that can evolve to level up with changing gaming conditions.

Furthermore, Altura guard provides developers with a secure and flexible way to authenticate users on their gaming apps while safeguarding their wallet keys. 

In early December 2024, Altura also unveiled an Intelligence feature that empowers developers with AI tools to create high-quality AI-powered games without hassle.

Altura operates across over 17 blockchain networks, including BNB Smart Chain, 

, making it a flexible and inclusive platform. When minting NFTs, you can easily switch between blockchains, using a drop-down menu on the site’s navigation bar. Gas fees for such transactions are paid in the native token of the network being used.

Altura enables developers to quickly build web3 games via its developer-friendly SDKs (software development kits) and APIs (application programming interfaces). 

Built for flexibility, Altura's SDKs cater to various gaming development needs. Its Unity SDK is optimized for the Unity game engine, offering developers read-only access to metadata, items, tokens and more. Meanwhile, the JavaScript SDK is ideal for both front-end and back-end integration, as it supports NFT minting and transfers with minimal coding. Both SDKs save time and resources, encouraging more developers to adopt blockchain technology in their games.

Altura’s developer-friendly APIs are designed to complement the SDK by facilitating secure communication with Altura’s back-end systems. This capability provides endpoints for developers to create, read, update and delete NFTs.

Gamers can mint and import NFTs on the Altura Marketplace, which is separate from the developer website. All the NFTs created on Altura are based on the ERC-1155 multi-token standard, allowing creators to generate dynamic smart NFTs (more on that below).

You can choose to mint NFTs with an initial supply greater than zero and list them for sale, or mint them with zero supply for a low-cost and more flexible experience through a process called lazy minting. When you lazy mint an NFT, it’s created off-chain and only minted when it’s sold, so the buyer bears the gas fees instead of the seller. Additionally, lazy mint functionality allows for whitelisting and tiered buying of NFTs, as well as other features.

Once you’ve minted NFTs, you’ll need to link them to your gaming project through the platform’s developer dashboard.

On its mission to simplify and revolutionize web3 gaming development, Altura offers a host of features to developers, as follows.

Smart NFTs are an innovative feature on Altura that developers can incorporate into their gaming projects. Unlike traditional NFTs, which are static, smart NFTs evolve based on in-game events or external triggers.

This dynamic functionality allows developers to create engaging and personalized gaming experiences. For example, a weapon NFT in a game could upgrade its attributes after achieving milestones, or a character NFT might gain new abilities after completing quests.

Additionally, Altura has introduced a more transparent form of loot boxes, in which players get to own the randomized in-game assets they collect as NFTs. By incorporating such loot boxes, developers can boost player engagement, drive retention and create monetization opportunities, while maintaining transparency through blockchain technology.

Altura Marketplace is a centralized hub where you can buy, sell or trade NFTs. Via the Marketplace, players can purchase their favorite in-game items, while creators have a platform on which to showcase their projects.

The Altura Marketplace is powered by the Seaport contract created by 

, which makes it more secure and gas-efficient than other marketplaces.

Altura also provides developers with a fully customizable white-label marketplace for their projects, complete with a project’s brand design.

Altura Intelligence is an AI asset generation tool that empowers game developers to create high-quality, in-game content and effortlessly deliver dynamic gaming experiences.

The first phase of Altura Intelligence offers a non-player character (NPC) engine, powered by advanced AI models, that facilitates the creation of immersive NPC experiences customized to a developer's game's parameters. In the second phase, Altura Intelligence introduces a custom Unity and Unreal Engine AI model in order for developers to easily create hyperrealistic worlds, and the NPC engine is upgraded to allow in-game NPCs to be tailored according to the players' interactions with the NPCs.

 that can be used seamlessly across Xbox, PlayStation, PC and mobile. AI technology is used to create flexible security, and allows only direct gaming transactions to be made. The fourth and final phase introduces an 

 that can perform a range of tasks, such as buying and selling NFTs, executing buy and sell orders, and even making travel-related reservations, such as flight and hotel bookings.

Altura Guard II is a security feature that introduces the use of social login and wallet connection to facilitate seamless connection across all 

 blockchains for ease of gaming transactions. Its wallet-agnostic approach allows users to transact via any wallet or social login. With Altura Guard II, players can use a simple five-word combination to connect to gaming apps. The feature uses a noncustodial login system that integrates various tech stacks, such as OpenLogin, Web3Auth and OAuth, to authenticate logins using social media accounts.

Altura Guard II is an upgrade from Altura Guard (Legacy), which lets a user enter their wallet address into an application.

Altura’s developer wallet is an essential tool for game creators. It streamlines the process of interacting with Altura’s ecosystem, allowing developers to effortlessly manage gaming assets, including minting and transferring NFTs.

Its intuitive interface eliminates the complexity of blockchain management, enabling developers to focus on creating engaging gaming experiences.

ALU is the native utility token for the Altura ecosystem, with a total/max/circulating supply of 990 million. The token is designed to leverage blockchain technology for seamless transactions between developers and gamers.

As the native token for Altura, ALU is used as the primary currency for transacting with various features on the Altura platform. You can use ALU tokens for in-platform transactions, such as purchasing in-game assets on the Altura Marketplace or unlocking AI features like the Altura Intelligence tools.

You can buy Altura’s ALU token on Bybit’s spot trading platform as the 

 Perpetual contract, with leverage of up to 50x.

As of Jan 28, 2025, ALU is trading at $0.0975, with a market cap of $96.52 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $36.28 million. Its current price is an 79% drop from its all-time high (ATH) of $0.46 on Nov 3, 2021, and a 3,699% increase from its all-time low (ATL) of $0.0025 on Jul 19, 2021.

Price forecasting experts are pretty bullish on ALU’s price. Price prediction experts at CoinCodex believe that ALU 

 a maximum price of $0.123 in 2027, and gradually increase to $0.407 by 2030. Meanwhile, technical experts at DigitalCoinPrice believe that ALU's price 

While these prognostications may seem bullish, they aren't financial advice, and they do not guarantee the future price of ALU. We highly recommend that you 

By seamlessly combining blockchain technology with gaming ecosystems, Altura empowers developers to create dynamic and immersive gaming experiences whereby players truly own their in-game assets.

The Altura platform's focus on smart NFTs that adapt and evolve based on in-game events introduces unprecedented utility and flexibility, setting Altura apart in the competitive landscape of blockchain gaming.

Altura provides a compelling value proposition for gamers: real ownership of digital assets, interoperability across games and the ability to monetize achievements in a decentralized marketplace. Furthermore, Altura empowers developers with tools to simplify NFT integration, enabling the creation of complex, engaging and interconnected game economies without requiring extensive blockchain expertise. Its use of AI technology also allows developers to integrate AI features efficiently into games, thus creating even more dynamic gaming experiences for players.

As the gaming industry continues its transition toward web3, platforms like Altura play a pivotal role in defining the future of interactive entertainment. With its innovative approach and strong vision, Altura has the potential to revolutionize web3 games and NFTs for years to come.

Altura (ALU): Unlocking NFT Potential in Web3 Games

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