Traders aren't panicking yet despite cooling crypto sentiment

Major cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin and ether, have come under pressure since an uptrend stalled last Monday. Traders and analysts have been watching options markets for signs that investors are buying protection, but current derivatives metrics show limited evidence of panic. Instead, call demand has eased from last week while put pricing has not surged to historically extreme levels. Data analytics firm Laeviats described the movement as a skew reversion rather than a focused put bid. Laeviats noted the 1.98v week-over-week move on bitcoin’s seven-day skew to -0.45v sits near the 92nd percentile of its 52-week range against a median of -4.41v, indicating downside protection remains relatively inexpensive compared with typical readings over the past year. Other market watchers see modest increases in put demand. 10x Research reported a recent uptick in puts and flagged the question of whether that represents short-term hedging or the start of a broader shift in positioning. The firm also pointed out that implied volatility for some bitcoin options remains near cycle lows even as realized volatility runs higher, with certain options priced around 30 vol on a market moving at about 42. Technically, price action is testing a level that was pierced earlier in the month and then reclaimed as support on Sept. 21. If that support holds, proponents say another leg higher could occur; if it fails, a deeper pullback may follow. For more granular derivatives and altcoin activity, the report points readers to CoinDesk’s Crypto Markets Today and the Crypto Week Ahead calendar.