Bitcoin options market turns: traders buy upside at $77k

Sentiment on the Bitcoin options market has completely reversed in a short space of time. The so-called 25 delta skew, a gauge of how option premiums are distributed between protection against price declines and bets on an upward move, is now at its lowest level of the year. At the same time, the Bitcoin price is up 7.2% to $77.000. These are two signals that together point to a significant shift in market sentiment.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• The 25 delta skew for Bitcoin falls to its lowest point of 2026, and the short-term skew is also turning negative.
• Traders are now paying more for call options than for put options, indicating demand for upside potential.
• Bitcoin is simultaneously up 7.2% to nearly $77.000.

What the 25 delta skew tells us

The 25 delta skew compares the implied volatility of put options, which benefit from a price decline, with that of call options, which benefit from a rise. When the skew is positive, puts are more expensive than calls: traders are willing to pay more for downside protection. When the skew is negative, the opposite applies.

Data from Glassnode shows that the skew across all maturities has fallen to its lowest level of this year. Strikingly, the shortest maturities, one week and one month, have now turned negative. This means that traders are actually paying more for call options than for puts over the short term.

Sentiment shift in the options market

Analyst n3ocortex notes that the turnaround has been rapid. Earlier this year, and certainly after the price dip towards $60.000 in August, traders were still paying a hefty premium for protection against further declines. That situation has now completely reversed.

Traders are now willing to pay more for the chance of a further rise in the near future. That is consistent with today’s sharp price move. Whether this sentiment persists depends in part on how the price develops in the coming days. The Bitcoin price now stands at $77.000, an increase of 7.2% in 24 hours.