Options Skew Turns Bearish as Professional Traders Hedge Downside

[cryptohog]

Derivatives markets are flashing caution.

On Deribit, Bitcoin’s 30-day options delta skew surged to 22%, with puts trading at a significant premium.

Under normal conditions, skew sits between -6% and +6%.
This level signals elevated downside hedging.

At the same time, Bitcoin futures funding rates have remained below the neutral 12% annualized threshold for four consecutive months — reinforcing weak bullish conviction.

Yet there’s a contradiction.

US-listed Bitcoin ETFs continue averaging $5.4 billion in daily volume — suggesting institutional interest hasn’t disappeared.

Spot demand remains active.
Derivatives traders remain defensive.

Until visibility improves around US economic data, particularly labor conditions, caution is likely to dominate positioning.

The market isn’t panicking.

But it isn’t confident either.

[encrypted]

low funding rates for months but etf volume still huge, institutions are playing both sides