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Crypto Options Trading Volume Surged in January as Prices Fell

The drop in prices kicked off certain trading strategies.

By Angelique Chen
AccessTimeIconFeb 3, 2022 at 7:19 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 6:11 p.m. UTC
Chart from Deribit shows monthly options-trading volumes for ether. (Deribit)
Chart from Deribit shows monthly options-trading volumes for ether. (Deribit)
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January was a gloomy month for digital assets, but the crypto options market boomed.

Deribit, the biggest crypto options exchange, wrote in a newsletter to investors on Thursday that the volume of option trades on its platform in ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, rose to a record 5.4 million in January, up 36% from the volume in December.

For bitcoin (BTC) options, the volume rose 10% to 498,000 in January from December.

The increase was partly due to trading strategies around the price drop in January. Despite the significant number of transactions, lower underlying price levels make total volumes measured in U.S. dollars slightly lower than the previous month.

The crypto market experienced strong headwinds in the past month. Bitcoin fell 17%, ethereum was down 27%, and trading volume in the spot market and bitcoin futures declined substantially.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Angelique Chen
Angelique Chen

Angelique is a market contributor at CoinDesk.

Follow @AngeliqueChen07 on Twitter

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