Volatility surface
Why BTC implied volatility matters
Implied volatility (IV) is the market's own forecast of how much BTC's price will move, embedded in the price of its options. It's not historical volatility — it's forward-looking, and it's what option sellers are actually pricing in right now. Rising IV means options are getting more expensive relative to spot; falling IV means the market expects calmer price action ahead.
Unlike the gamma exposure page, this data isn't derived — it's the exact mark_iv Deribit itself publishes on every strike and expiry, straight from their own volatility engine.
How to read this page
- Term structure — at-the-money IV plotted across every expiry Deribit lists. An upward-sloping curve (longer-dated options priced with higher IV) is the normal shape; a downward slope or "kink" near a specific expiry often reflects an anticipated event.
- Skew (smile) — out-of-the-money IV by strike for one selected expiry. Puts trading at higher IV than calls at equivalent distance from spot ("put skew") reflects demand for downside protection; the reverse ("call skew") reflects demand for upside exposure.
- Surface — the full grid of strike (by moneyness) × expiry, shaded by IV, showing how the skew shape itself changes across expiries.
Methodology & data
All IV values are published directly by Deribit on every strike and expiry (mark_iv) — this page doesn't apply any Black-Scholes derivation or smoothing of its own, unlike the gamma exposure page, which does back-solve gamma from this same IV. ETH's IV series only starts 2026-08-12, so ETH has no earlier history the way BTC does.
What is implied volatility?
The volatility level that, plugged into an option pricing model, produces the option's current market price. It reflects what traders expect future price swings to look like, not what already happened.
What is volatility skew?
The difference in implied volatility between out-of-the-money puts and calls at the same distance from the current price. In BTC options, persistent put skew typically reflects structural demand for downside hedges.
Where does this IV data come from?
Deribit's own published mark_iv field on every strike and expiry — not calculated or estimated by us. Deribit is the dominant venue for BTC options by open interest.
How is this different from the gamma exposure page?
This page shows Deribit's raw published IV. The gamma exposure page uses this same IV as an input to a separate Black-Scholes calculation, to estimate dealer hedging pressure by strike.