Partner Reports

Bybit + Glassnode: The State of Crypto Derivatives

A joint report on how the Bitcoin options market grew, where it took its share from, and how trading behaviour differs across the venues.

Glassnode

• 2 min read
Bybit x Glassnode: The State of Crypto Derivatives, August 2026 research report

The crypto derivatives landscape has changed shape. On the crypto-native venues, options went from a sideshow to nearly half of notional open interest, and dated futures all but disappeared. In our joint report with Bybit, we analyzed this change in three passes: the whole market, the venues within it, and the conditions the new structure is pricing. Every chart draws on Glassnode's derivatives and market data across the exchanges we track.

The full report is freely available for download in PDF format.

Download report PDF

The options book grew through two full cycles

Seven years, two full cycles, and the climb barely paused for the bear market.

Seven years of options open interest, and the climb barely paused for the bear market
Seven years of options open interest, and the climb barely paused for the bear market

Options took the share that dated futures gave up

Dated futures faded from the crypto-native venues, perpetuals absorbed their leverage, and options took the share they left over.

On open interest, options went from a quarter of crypto-native Bitcoin derivatives to nearly half
On open interest, options went from a quarter of crypto-native Bitcoin derivatives to nearly half

Each venue's traders keep different hours

Hour by hour, the profile shows when the traders on each venue are actually active. Each exchange has a distinct profile.

Four venues, one week, hour by hour, each against its own flat clock
Four venues, one week, hour by hour, each against its own flat clock

What else the report covers

  • How the market carries leverage: the collateral behind it moved from coin to stable value.
  • The venue map for options, perpetuals and tokenised gold, every venue compared the same way.
  • Bybit's own book: its options franchise, its Ether and metals complexes, and a trading week that runs around the clock.
  • What volatility costs: the implied volatility surface, and options priced against the volatility the market delivered.
  • Five days in August: how the sharpest week of the drawdown traded in open interest, skew and the curve.

To explore the data and insights, download the full analysis in PDF format.

Download report PDF

Disclaimer: This report does not provide any investment advice. All data is provided for information and educational purposes only. No investment decision shall be based on the information provided here and you are solely responsible for your own investment decisions. We urge users to exercise caution and discretion when utilizing these metrics. Glassnode shall not be held responsible for any discrepancies or potential inaccuracies.