open interest at all-time highs

The first half of 2025 marked a historic moment for the crypto options market. The open interest on Bitcoin options reached levels never seen before, consolidating the role of this instrument as a fundamental component for risk management and yield strategy.

According to the 2025 semi-annual report by CoinGlass, the options sector is now a reflection of the maturity reached by the crypto market, with increasingly sophisticated choices by retail and institutional investors.

The figures of the record on the crypto options market

On May 30, 2025, the global open interest on Bitcoin options reached the all-time high of $49.3 billion. An impressive result, the fruit of:

• of the continuous growth of institutional capital,
• of the demand for instruments for hedging and speculation in a context of contained volatility.

Despite the relative stability of the spot price, interest in options has continued to rise, indicating a greater awareness of the use of bull and bear derivative instruments.

Exchange leader: Deribit in the lead

The options market remains heavily concentrated on a few players:

• Deribit maintains absolute leadership, with over 60% of the total volume and a dominant position in liquidity.
• OKX and Binance follow at a distance, progressively expanding their range of options but without undermining Deribits primacy.
• Decentralized protocols, such as Lyra and Premia, have recorded marginal growth, but their scale remains limited.

According to CoinGlass, the combination of liquidity, advanced tools, and established trust makes Deribit the benchmark for institutional and professional investors.

Why is the crypto options market growing？1️⃣ Risk Coverage

In a context of macroeconomic uncertainty, traders use options to protect spot positions from sudden corrections.

2️⃣ Yield Generation

Strategies based on selling options (to collect premiums) are increasingly widespread in an environment of low implied volatility.

3️⃣ Greater sophistication

Institutional investors are adopting multi-asset and multi-horizon strategies, using options to balance more complex portfolios.

Low volatility, high participation

An interesting fact is that the boom in options occurred in a context of implied volatility (IV) at multi-year lows. In May 2025, the 30-day IV on BTC dropped to some of the lowest levels since 2021.

This scenario has encouraged option selling strategies, with investors betting on range-bound markets to generate periodic premiums.

Put/Call ratio: signal of caution

In June, the Put/Call ratio rose to 1.28, highlighting an increasing demand for put options to hedge against downside risk, especially during phases of geopolitical tension.

However, the six-month average of the ratio remained balanced, consistent with an overall positive but cautious sentiment.

What to expect in the coming months

According to the CoinGlass report, the options market is set to grow further in 2025, especially if volatility returns to rise to higher levels.

Any breakout of spot prices from the current ranges could catalyze a new repricing of options and an increase in IV.