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

block-scholes-x-bybit-report.jpeg

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

flock.png

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

network3 tutorial.png

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.

2.png

Bybit Launches $50,000 Merch Design Challenge for University Students Worldwide

Bybit Learn

Trading

Discover the potential ways to earn crypto during the bear market and find out how you can get started on Bybit today! 

31599_Trading_PLATFORM_Derivatives_10-Day_Tournament_3840x1200.png

Cryptocurrency trading has resulted in astronomical gains for many people. However, given the current crypto market conditions, it may seem like losses are more common than gains. While many traders have lost money in the market downturn, others have found exciting ways to continue profiting from their cryptocurrency activities. Bybit is a reliable cryptocurrency exchange that has been popular amongst traders for several years. It is most well-known for its fast-matching engine, but it also offers several ways the best ways to earn in a bear market.

Best Ways to Earn on Bybit During This Bear Market

You may initially assume that the best ways to earn on a cryptocurrency exchange such as Bybit are by buying and selling cryptocurrencies strategically. However, crypto traders can also 

 as well as trading-based income on Bybit in other ways. A closer look at the best ways to earn on this exchange can open your eyes to the potentially lucrative possibilities.

One of the best ways to earn on this exchange is through 

. Bybit hosts numerous crypto trading competitions throughout the year. These competitions typically have multiple winners, so the opportunity for savvy traders to win crypto assets is significant. The specific entry requirements, prize pools, rules and other critical factors vary by competition. Because of this, it is important to read the fine print before you get started.

Generally, however, a first-place winner may earn up to 1,000 USDT or more. Some competitions give you the chance to earn a prize each day of the event. Depending on the competition, those who place in the top 10 may also win prizes. Crypto traders compete to outperform other competitors, such as with the highest P&L percentage, largest trading volume or other factors.

 in celebration of its 4th anniversary. The competition takes place from Dec 15 to Dec 30, 2022. All traders who have at least 200 USDT in their Bybit Derivative wallet can register, and the short registration process can be completed on the Bybit website. 

There is a 200,000 USDT prize pool for the Derivatives 15-Day Tournament. Tournament winners will be selected based on their P&L performance. Users can trade any type of Derivatives Contract, and only crypto traders with a Derivatives trading volume of $80,000 or more are eligible to win. 

Since the competition is held in part due to Bybit’s 4th anniversary, users who take part in the competition can also earn an extra $1,000,000 prize pool in the Bybit 4th Anniversary Lucky Draw. Users can stand a chance to walk away with a BMW, an iPhone 14 Pro, or $5 in 

Skilled crypto traders who continue to perform well even in a market downturn may be successful at master trading. After you sign up to be a 

, you will gradually grow a following of Copy Traders, especially when you have a proven track record of profits. Master Traders get a 10% return on their followers’ activities, making it among the best ways to earn in current market conditions. 

On Bybit, traders who are inexperienced or who want to easily increase their profits can also join as Copy Traders to copy the activities of a Master Trader to make profits. 

Becoming a Master Trader is a quick and easy process. You simply need to sign up for a Copy Trading subaccount on Bybit. After you have deposited at least 100 USDT into this account, you can start trading, building followers and earning money. 

For crypto traders who do not qualify to be Master Traders, 

 is one of the best ways to earn on this exchange. Copy Traders essentially follow the trading strategies and activities of Master Traders, and have to pay 10% of their returns as a fee to their Master Trader. However, many Master Traders have produced in excess of 20–30% ROI over the last 90 days. While there is no foolproof way to secure trading profits in the crypto market, Copy Trading could help you to increase your overall ROI.

Getting started as a Copy Trader on Bybit requires minimal effort. After logging into your Bybit account, navigate to the 

, which can be found in the navigation bar. After selecting a Master Trader to follow, you can execute active orders and copy trades.

, is also among the best ways to earn money on this exchange. After joining this program, you can use your influence as a Bybit affiliate and earn up to 50% in commissions for trading Spot, Futures and Options. You can earn an additional 5% commission if users trade 

 products, and another 10% if they sign up as a Bybit affiliate as well. 

But that’s not all, the Bybit Affiliate Program will also help you to grow your audience, provide you with timely compensation, and grant you access to worldwide networking events for you to meet like-minded individuals within the crypto industry. There are currently more than 100,000 affiliates across more than 80 countries.

To apply to become an affiliate on Bybit, simply complete the short application on the Bybit Affiliate website. This only takes a few minutes to do. Your application will be reviewed within a day, and you will be notified about the decision. Once you have been approved, you will receive an affiliate link which you can then share to start earning money.

Another one of the best ways to earn through Bybit is 

. This is a management platform that offers several programs that have a higher yield with a lower risk. 

One of these products is Bybit Savings, which offers a guaranteed yield and accommodates a variety of cryptocurrencies. Dual Asset is another option that allows crypto traders to earn assets by correctly predicting the price direction of a specific cryptocurrency. Through Shark Fin, you can enjoy guaranteed principal with the ability to earn a yield. Another program offered through Bybit Earn is Launchpool, which allows you to earn a guaranteed return by staking your tokens. Liquidity Mining also presents the opportunity to earn by contributing your crypto assets to a liquidity pool.

You can access all of the Bybit Earn products through the Bybit Earn homepage. In the top navigation bar, simply click on the 

 tab. This will reveal a dropdown menu for each of the products. You can review the current yield for all programs and decide how to allocate your assets.

Bear markets are associated with an increased risk of loss due to falling prices. However, Bybit offers numerous options for crypto traders to profit and earn passive income in the current market conditions. Take time to explore these options in greater detail today!

5 Best Ways to Earn on Bybit During This Bear Market

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards