Deribit Sees 17% Growth in Crypto Derivatives Trading Volume in August, Led by Options

Options are derivative contracts that give the purchaser the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a preset price at a later date. A call option offers the right to buy and a put gives the right to sell. Deribit controls nearly 90% of the global crypto options activity.

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest crypto asset by market value, experienced violent price swings between $25,000 and $30,000, triggering massive liquidations in futures and options on Deribit and boosting hedging demand for call and puts. Deribit’s bitcoin implied volatility index (BTC DVOL) and similar ETH-focused gauge surged to 53% and 50%, respectively from their respective historic lows in a sign of renewed demand for options.

Trading volume in ether rose to the highest since March. (Deribit) (Deribit)

More than 5.6 million ether (ETH) option contracts, worth $9 billion at the ETH’s current market price of $1,624, changed hands last month. That’s the highest single-month tally since March.

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Meanwhile, about 0.7 million BTC options contracts were traded. On Deribit, one options contract represents 1 ETH and 1 BTC.