## Options Expiration Signals Market Confidence: Massive Capital Betting on Upside Momentum

With approximately $2.1 billion in combined BTC and ETH options contracts heading toward settlement this Friday, market participants are positioning for measured upside rather than hedging major downside risks. The implied volatility landscape has shifted considerably, with BTC IV contracting to 43% and ETH IV settling at 60%, suggesting traders are pricing in reduced near-term volatility after recent swings.

The technical picture becomes more compelling when examining skew structures. BTC's 25-Delta skew across various maturities now displays negatively skewed characteristics with tighter convergence, indicating that the extreme downside protection premium has eased. ETH follows a similar pattern, maintaining its overall negatively skewed profile while continuing to compress, reflecting a broader market belief that catastrophic sell-offs are less probable.

What stands out most is the institutional activity in block trades. The largest transaction captured a massive position: long BTC call options struck at $100,000 (expiring 300126), representing 3,225 BTC with net premium paid around $3.05 million. This aggressive call-buying—particularly at psychologically significant strike prices—directly points toward professional funds preferring bull call spread structures rather than outright bearish hedges.

At current levels (BTC trading near $92.21K and ETH at $3.16K), this positioning makes strategic sense. Funds are layering in bullish defined-risk structures above key support zones, effectively betting that consolidation will break higher rather than cascade lower. The convergence in skew, combined with falling IV and structural call-buying, paints a picture of capital flowing into constructive directional plays—a significant shift from defensive posturing that dominated earlier periods.