Bitcoin, ether traders aren't fully buying the bounce, options markets show

Crypto Daybook Americas Bitcoin, ether traders aren't fully buying the bounce, options markets show Your day-ahead look for July 3, 2026 By Omkar Godbole | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jul 3, 2026, 11:27 a.m. 3 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Options markets show crypto traders still feel the need for a lifesaver. (Markus Spiske/Unsplash) Summary Show This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter 'Daybook.' Sign up here , if you haven't already. With bitcoin BTC $ 61,884.29 and the broader crypto market showing signs of life, defensive positioning in the market has eased, not disappeared, a sign of continued caution. This is evident from the BTC and ether (ETH) options markets listed on Deribit, where put options, derivative contracts offering protection against price slides, continue to trade at a premium to calls, or bullish contracts. Bitcoin's one-week, 25-delta put-call skew, which measures the difference in volatility for puts relative to calls, was around 16%. It showed puts outpacing demand by a 16% vol point premium. That’s still notably elevated, though significantly lower than the 25% of 10 days ago, according to data source Velo. The one-, three-, and six-month skews also show put premiums of around 10% or more. The same is true for ether. The message is clear. Downside fears persist, keeping demand for insurance against price declines intact even though BTC long-term holders and ETF investors appear to have returned to accumulation. Besides, some of the largest block flows in options still point to range-bound positions rather than bullish expectations. Consider block flows, trades that are negotiated over the counter and then listed on the exchange. These typically involve institutions and large traders seeking privacy for their transactions. According to Laevitas, one of the big flows has been a long call condor on BTC. The strategy involved long positions in July 17 expiry calls at the $64,000 and $70,000 strikes and short positions in the same expiry calls at $66,000 and $68,000. This strategy makes the most money if, on July 17, BTC trades between $66,000 and $68,000. The U.S. markets are closed Friday on account of the Independence Day weekend. Liquidity is likely to be thin during the extended weekend, which may lead to erratic moves. Stay alert! Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's " Crypto Week Ahead ." What’s trending Securitize tokenizes $295 million of its own stock on Solana and Avalanche amid NYSE debut (CoinDesk): Securitize (SECZ), a tokenization specialist backed by BlackRock (BLK) and ARK Invest, began trading on the NYSE Thursday, and brought its own shares to blockchain investors. Finally. $221 million flow into Bitcoin ETFs, ending a painful 10-day outflow streak (CoinDesk): Fidelity’s FBTC led the charge with a $165.96 million inflow, followed by ARKB at $91.84 million and HODL at $4.35 million. BlackRock’s IBIT was the outlier with a $40.43 million outflow. World shares rally after Dow hits a record, as some AI shares bounce back (AP): Shares advanced Friday in Europe and Asia after the Dow Jones Industrial Average set another record, as some key AI-related stocks rose while others extended losses. U.S. markets will be closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday. Oil prices stable as US-Iran peace efforts hold (Reuters): Oil prices were steady on Friday as traders held on to hopes that attempts to ​secure peace in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran would succeed. Brent futures stood at $71.97 and West Texas Intermediate, $68.71. Today’s signal ETH/BTC ratio. (TradingView) The ether-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio is rising again and fast approaching its 100-day simple moving average (SMA). Here's why that average matters. Since December, the ratio's recovery rallies have run into strong selling pressure around that level. The yellow boxes on the chart show that. So, as the ratio approaches that average, it's worth paying attention to whether it manages to establish a foothold above the key level. If it does, that could be the strongest signal yet of a bottom and bullish turnaround in ether relative to bitcoin. Crypto Daybook Americas Related Assets Bitcoin $ 61,884.29 0.97 % Latest Crypto News 1 Crypto bulls on firmer footing as U.S. rate-hike risk recedes 17 minutes ago 2 Memory and semiconductor stocks lose momentum, bitcoin rebounds in sign of changing investor focus 47 minutes ago 3 Tokenization could make finance faster, but also more susceptible to shocks, IMF says 2 hours ago 4 Live updates: Bitcoin rises above $61,000 as the red hot semiconductor trade starts to fade 4 hours ago 5 Binance says MiCA should be judged by who it licenses, not who it excludes 4 hours ago 6 Finally. $221 million flow into Bitcoin ETFs, ending a painful 10-day outflow streak 5 hours ago 7 XRP bulls test path back toward $1.10 as token zips 4% higher 6 hours ago 8 Ether and solana extend gains as a short squeeze lifts bitcoin toward $62,000 6 hours ago 9 Securitize tokenizes $295 million of its own stock on Solana and Avalanche amid NYSE debut 16 hours ago 10 EToro invests in onchain derivatives platform Extended as brokers race into DeFi 18 hours ago Latest Research Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. By CoinDesk Research Jun 30, 2026 Commissioned by GenZcash Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. Why it matters : Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold. View Full Report More From Crypto Daybook Americas Warsh's comments set the stage for U.S. jobs data to ignite bitcoin, gold rally XRP, HYPE funds are the bright spots as investors flee bitcoin, ether ETFs Bitcoin $4.4 billion supply overhang emerges as institutional demand wilts More From Bitcoin Crypto bulls on firmer footing as U.S. rate-hike risk recedes Memory and semiconductor stocks lose momentum, bitcoin rebounds in sign of changing investor focus Tokenization could make finance faster, but also more susceptible to shocks, IMF says