Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has released its latest weekly crypto derivatives analytics report in partnership with Block Scholes. The report highlights a six-day streak of gains in risk-on assets, driven by encouraging signals around potential US trade deals. It provides an in-depth analysis of macroeconomic indicators, spot market activity, and derivative trends across futures, perpetual contracts, and options. The report reflects a market lifted by renewed confidence, yet still navigating recent volatility and heightened risk awareness.

Bitcoin has been trading sideways near $94,000 this week, after surging from $75,000 to over $95,000 in early April. Open interest has remained steady for April, hovering near all-time highs at $8 billion, while daily trade volumes have declined to $10 billion. Perpetual futures positioning suggests that traders are holding off on major bets, potentially awaiting the next breakout while remaining wary of recent sell-offs.

Bitcoin's volatility has declined toward a key support zone between 35% and 40%—a range from which it has repeatedly rebounded over the past 18 months. Implied volatility has followed suit, dipping in line with a 10-point drop in realized volatility to just above 30%, the lower bound of its 18-month range. Options flows currently show a preference for puts, while the spot price remains stable. The volatility smile skews toward out-of-the-money (OTM) calls for longer-dated options, whereas short-dated options are close to neutral.

Bitcoin's volatility smile now favors out-of-the-money (OTM) calls across all tenors, marking a reversal from the put-heavy skew seen earlier in April. Ether shows a similar short-term recovery, although longer-dated skew for ETH remains modestly bearish. Despite positive funding rates for ETH, longer-dated option smiles still lean toward puts, indicating mixed sentiment. In contrast, BTC derivatives markets reflect stronger bullish signals, including positive funding rate spikes, upward-sloping futures curves, and a renewed skew toward OTM calls.

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