Ether Options Market Shows Bias for Price Weakness Over 3 Months
Ether’s three-month put-call skew, which measures the cost of puts – or bearish bets – relative to calls, flipped positive on Monday for the first time in since July. A positive value implies relatively greater demand for puts, a sign that investors are seeking protection against falling prices.
The gauge rose to 2%, the highest level since July 21, according to data provided by crypto derivatives research firm Skew.
A put option gives the purchaser the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A call option gives the right to buy.
The one-week put-call skew has also jumped to a two-month high, touching 12%, alongside an uptick in the one-month gauge. Meanwhile, one-month implied volatility, or investors’ expectations for price turbulence over the next four weeks, has risen slightly to an annualized 92% from 88%.
Sentiment has soured, with ether falling 8% to $3,070 in the past 24 hours amid broad-based risk aversion in crypto and traditional markets.
Crypto and traditional markets seem affected by the crisis at China’s Evergrande and a possible tapering of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program.
Still, some analysts remain bullish for the long term. Simon Peters, a market analyst at eToro, said in a daily note that with the burning of ether, scarcity of the token will grow and theoretically raise prices for the crypto asset.
Since Ethereum’s London upgrade on Aug. 5, more than 300,000 ether tokens have been burned. This amounts to roughly $1 billion worth of the token.