Bybit Reports 111 Billion Monthly High in Perpetual Trading Volume

Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has released its latest crypto derivatives analytics report in collaboration with Block Scholes. The report outlines Bitcoin's (BTC) solid price action in the previous week, with positive movements observed across various cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH) and altcoins.

One of the key insights from the report is the significant surge in perpetual trading volume on Bybit, which hit a monthly high of $11.1 billion by the end of the week. This surge followed BTC’s breakthrough to $115,000 on July 9, after a lackluster July thus far. The overall funding rates for assets, including BTC, turned consistently positive, with BTC experiencing only 8 hours of negative funding rates a day before its all-time high (ATH) over Trump’s tariff remarks.

The report also highlights a dramatic reversal in BTC’s options market sentiment. On July 9th, the put-call skew flipped from a 2% premium favoring downside protection to a 5% premium on upside calls. This shift indicates that traders are increasingly positioning for further BTC price appreciation, despite the asset’s already substantial gains.

Notably, altcoins demonstrated competitive gains against BTC. ETH and XRP each surged over 6% compared to BTC’s relatively modest gains to its new ATH of $112,000—just $29 above the May peak. While BTC options maintained rangebound implied volatility between 26-35%, the altcoin rally highlighted shifting market dynamics. However, SOL lagged with only a 2% weekly gain despite strong ecosystem fundamentals, including record-breaking Q2 revenue of $271 million that outpaced all other Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks.

In June, the BTC options market experienced a significant shift as the put-call skew flipped after reaching an all-time high (ATH). This change occurred amidst a backdrop of overall positive funding rates for assets, including BTC, which had only experienced 8 hours of negative funding rates in recent weeks. The shift in the put-call skew indicates a change in market sentiment, with traders becoming more bullish on BTC.

The Block Scholes report highlighted several key insights into the volatility of BTC and other major cryptocurrencies. Notably, BTC's volatility reached historically low levels compared to ETH and SOL. In June, BTC's implied volatility fell to 28%, and its 7-day realized volatility ranged between 22% and 25%. This downward trend in volatility persisted despite significant macro shocks, including geopolitical tensions and policy disputes.

The report also noted that the launch of spot ETFs in the US may have contributed to the suppression of BTC's realized volatility. The entry of institutional buyers through ETFs could be acting as a marginal buyer, providing a "stickier" source of demand that helps stabilize BTC prices. This is evident in the skewed distribution of BTC returns in 2025, which shows a higher proportion of small, positive daily returns.

In contrast, ETH ETFs have seen lower proportional inflows, which may limit their impact on ETH's volatility. Despite the launch of several ETH spot ETFs, the buying activity has been significantly lower compared to BTC ETFs, resulting in a smaller proportion of ETH's daily trade volume. This difference in ETF activity could explain why ETH has not experienced the same level of volatility suppression as BTC.

The report also examined the relative volatility ratios of BTC to ETH and SOL. The ratio of ETH to BTC realized volatility over the past seven days has been significantly high, indicating that ETH volatility has been increasing relative to BTC. Similarly, the SOL to BTC realized volatility ratio has also been high, suggesting that both ETH and SOL volatilities have been growing relative to BTC.

The analysis further explored whether the low level of BTC volatility could be attributed to the entry of institutional buyers through ETFs. The report found that the decline in BTC volatility coincided with the launch of spot ETFs in the US, suggesting a potential link between institutional ETF flows and the suppression of BTC volatility. However, the report cautioned that more evidence is needed to establish a definitive causal relationship.

In conclusion, the shift in the put-call skew and the historically low levels of BTC volatility in June highlight a significant change in market sentiment and dynamics. The entry of institutional buyers through ETFs may be playing a role in suppressing BTC's volatility, but further analysis is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Meanwhile, ETH and SOL have experienced increasing volatility relative to BTC, indicating a divergence in the volatility dynamics of these major cryptocurrencies.