Bitcoin options reach nearly 60% of derivatives open interest, Volmex says
CoinDesk reported, citing Volmex, issuer of the bitcoin volatility index BVIV, that options accounted for just under 60% of open interest across all bitcoin derivatives last week, up from around 50% at the start of the year. Volmex described the growth as a structural shift toward risk management. ETF-linked bitcoin options held about $36 billion in open interest, nearly $35 billion of it in BlackRock's IBIT, and IBIT options have tripled since January 2025, when they were about $11 billion.
Only one publisher so far. Another independent outlet or an official source would raise it.
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Key facts
Attributed sources: CoinDesk
BTC after this site detected it
- 5 minutes+0.00%Gate · USDT
- 1 hour+0.19%Gate · USDT
- 24 hours-1.69%Gate · USDT
Claims and open questions
What sources claim
- Volmex, cited by CoinDesk, said options made up just under 60% of open interest among all bitcoin derivatives last week, compared with around 50% at the start of the year.
- CoinDesk reported that options tied to U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded funds had about $36 billion in open interest, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for nearly $35 billion, and that IBIT options have tripled since January 2025, when open interest was about $11 billion.
- CoinDesk reported that, per Volmex, the growth in options represents a structural shift in bitcoin markets toward managing risk rather than only betting on price direction.
Still unresolved
- What share of bitcoin derivatives open interest options hold most recently, and whether Volmex expects the figure to keep rising beyond the just-under-60% reading?
- How much of the increase in bitcoin options open interest comes from ETF-linked options versus crypto-native platforms such as Deribit?
Model-assisted explanation; citations, numbers and output format are checked. This is not independent semantic verification.
Source evidence
www.coindesk.com
Published 21/10/2026, 11:15 · Received 21/10/2026, 11:16
Original source titles remain in their source language. Full articles are not republished.
Market reaction after detection
Returns start at the sample closest to site detection (within the same minute up to 10 minutes later), using the same data source and quote currency. Actual sample times are shown; missing observations remain blank.
| Window | Return | Actual sampled interval / source |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | +0.00% | 21/10/2026, 11:16 → 21/10/2026, 11:21 (UTC) Gate · USDT |
| 1 hour | +0.19% | 21/10/2026, 11:16 → 21/10/2026, 12:16 (UTC) Gate · USDT |
| 24 hours | -1.69% | 21/10/2026, 11:16 → 22/10/2026, 11:17 (UTC) Gate · USDT |
Historical market context
Research: hourly returns and BTC beta →
Closed hourly candles from the 30 days before this event observation. Different venues are kept separate.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Hourly coverage | 100.0% (720/720) |
| Median absolute 1h return | 0.15% |
| 99th percentile of absolute 1h returns | 1.23% |
OKX · USDT · Context as of 21/10/2026, 11:16 · Last included candle closed 21/10/2026, 11:00
Hourly descriptive statistics, not minute-move probabilities. Backfilled history never moves the observation cutoff above.
Event timeline
Source publication, receipt and analysis times are separate. All times UTC.
Source published: CoinDesk
Source received: CoinDesk
Event first detected by this site
Evidence record updated
Source edited; evidence recalculated
English explanation generated
Latest content update
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