Ahead of the September 15-16 FOMC meeting, Bitcoin options markets exhibited a put skew, indicating that implied volatility for 25-delta puts exceeded that of equivalent calls. For the September 25 expiry, this skew reached 1.44 percentage points.
Bitcoin traded near $80,000 in mid-September. The DVOL index on Deribit recorded an overall implied volatility of approximately 38.9% for near-term contracts on September 16, reflecting cautious sentiment rather than market panic.
Aggregate open interest remains skewed toward bullish positions, with calls accounting for 61% and puts for 39%. The presence of a put skew suggests that traders are specifically seeking insurance on short-dated contracts to hedge against potential volatility.
This defensive positioning marks a shift from the July 2026 FOMC window, when near-term put hedges were unwound and the 25-delta skew compressed to around 4%. Current market pricing suggests a preference for protecting against downside moves while maintaining upside exposure.
