Ether options signal growing downside fears as Bitcoin stays resilient, analyst says

Ethereum traders are paying more to protect against a potential sell-off as implied volatility climbs and demand for downside hedges grows, even as Bitcoin holds relatively firm amid ongoing market turmoil. Ether’s seven-day put options traded at an implied-volatility premium of as much as eight percentage points over calls during the weekend, according to data from Block Scholes. ETH’s seven-day implied volatility has also risen by nearly 10 percentage points, while Bitcoin’s increased from just below 30% to 33% since last Friday. The widening put-call skew comes as Ether has fallen about 8% over the past 30 days, while Bitcoin has gained 1.5%. Thahbib Rahman, research analyst at Block Scholes, said the short-dated put-call skew has widened for both crypto assets since the start of October, indicating increased demand for protection against potential losses. The divergence comes as weakening sentiment around artificial intelligence investments weighs on risk appetite across US equities and crypto. Chipmakers have fallen nearly 20% over the past two weeks, while the Nasdaq-100 recorded its worst week since the April 2025 tariff turmoil. The VIX, which measures expected volatility i...