Anchorage Digital’s latest research shows Bitcoin options traders are staying defensive. Both Deribit and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) show elevated put skew — meaning traders are paying more for downside protection than for upside bets.
The defensive positioning ranks in the 82nd percentile for IBIT’s history and the 84th percentile for Deribit’s five-year track record. That’s a significant level of caution.
What’s unusual: Bitcoin options markets have spent nearly half of 2026 pricing higher implied volatility over the next week than over the next month. This near-term volatility premium is rare and typically short-lived. Anchorage attributes it to a string of macroeconomic and geopolitical events keeping traders focused on immediate risks.
Despite the overall bearish posture, the options market isn’t signaling a crisis for Strategy (MSTR). Put skew hasn’t reached levels typically associated with forced deleveraging fears. Strategy’s preferred stock (STRC) has been trading around $77 — about 23% below its $100 par value — after the company disclosed it increased cash reserves to $1.3 billion.
Anchorage said it’s watching for one-month implied volatility to overtake one-week volatility again. That shift would suggest markets are starting to look past near-term turbulence.
