--- title: "Bitcoin options reach nearly 60% of derivatives open interest, Volmex says" description: "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.…" language: en canonical: "https://whycoinmoves.com/en/events/bitcoin-bitcoin-risk-management-grows-more-3ef7b6c7c22a20" published: 2026-10-21T11:16:57.000Z updated: 2026-10-22T11:17:05.000Z indexable: false --- # 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.… Attributed sources: [CoinDesk]() ## Key facts 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. Evidence strength: Single source, 1 publisher group(s) (CoinDesk); this describes source coverage, not truth or causation. After site detection, observed returns were 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). Unlisted windows are unavailable. In the preceding 30 days, the 99th percentile of absolute hourly returns was 1.23% (OKX · USDT; cutoff 21/10/2026, 11:16, UTC). This hourly baseline is not directly comparable with a minute move. ## Returns after site detection | Window | Return | BTC | Difference from BTC | Actual sampled interval (UTC) | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 5 minutes | +0.00% | +0.00% | 0.00 pp | 21/10/2026, 11:16 → 21/10/2026, 11:21 | Gate · USDT | | 1 hour | +0.19% | +0.19% | 0.00 pp | 21/10/2026, 11:16 → 21/10/2026, 12:16 | Gate · USDT | | 24 hours | -1.69% | -1.69% | 0.00 pp | 21/10/2026, 11:16 → 22/10/2026, 11:17 | Gate · USDT | ## Historical hourly baseline | Metric | Value | | --- | --- | | Ready | true | | Coverage | 100.0% (720/720) | | Median absolute hourly return | 0.15% | | 99th percentile of absolute hourly returns | 1.23% | | BTC beta | 1.00 | | Source / cutoff (UTC) | OKX · USDT / 21/10/2026, 11:16 | ## Claims and open questions - 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. - 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? ## Source evidence - [Bitcoin risk management grows more popular as the 'just bet on price' era fades]() — CoinDesk; published 21/10/2026, 11:15; received 21/10/2026, 11:16 (UTC). ## Recent BTC events and market reactions - [US spot bitcoin ETFs return to net outflows with $636 million withdrawn]() — Published 23/10/2026, 07:09 (UTC) · Multiple publishers (2 publishers) · Market watch · 5m -0.02% / 1h +0.13% - [Chinese court accepts prosecutors' bid to confiscate Bitcoin seized in UK]() — Published 22/10/2026, 06:24 (UTC) · Multiple publishers (3 publishers) · General news · 5m -0.02% / 1h -0.41% / 24h -0.94% - [US spot Bitcoin ETFs take in about $1.07 billion over three sessions]() — Published 22/10/2026, 04:41 (UTC) · Multiple publishers (3 publishers) · Market watch · 5m +0.05% / 1h +0.07% / 24h -1.31% - [Bitcoin slips below $82K after Tesla and Meta results unsettle tech markets]() — Published 22/10/2026, 03:51 (UTC) · Multiple publishers (2 publishers) · Market watch · 5m +0.13% / 1h +0.04% / 24h -1.04% - [Bitcoin rises above $84,500 as SpaceX earnings lift tech stocks]() — Published 21/10/2026, 15:13 (UTC) · Multiple publishers (2 publishers) · Market watch · 5m +0.15% / 1h +0.25% - [Full coin archive]() ## Research for this archive - [Altcoin beta to Bitcoin: BTC, ETH, SOL and DOGE hourly returns]() - [Perpetual funding rates and annualized yield: a 2025 comparison]() - [Bitcoin halving and bull markets: evidence from four halvings]() - [Bittensor (TAO): Bitcoin beta, volatility and the AI crypto narrative]() [Methods and limitations]() Publisher count is not independent evidence count. Price changes cannot verify news or prove causation.