IBIT options volume shifts toward calls after September expiry

Call volume dominates IBIT sessions

I observe a heavy tilt toward call activity in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) options market this month. A total of 847,928 IBIT option contracts changed hands on October 2, 2026. The volume included 567,282 calls and 280,646 puts, which produced a put/call volume ratio of 0.49. The session saw $56.88 million in call premium trade against $25.93 million in put premium. Specific contracts showed massive interest, such as the $50 call with 26,464 contracts trading at 11.7x the 30-day average and the $49 call with 23,896 contracts at 4.8x the average. Data for the week ending October 5 shows a put-call volume ratio of 0.55. While the September 25 expiry involved nearly $16 billion in Bitcoin options on Deribit, the current IBIT volume reflects a different focus on liquidity and hedging through regulated U.S. exchange-traded products. This shift occurs as Bitcoin recently climbed from $80,000 toward $86,000, placing the price near several important option strikes following one of the largest quarterly settlements in 2026. The price of Bitcoin remains volatile as the market digests these massive derivative settlements.

Divergent tools for traders

I see a distinct difference in how traders handle these assets because the payoff structures differ. Perpetual futures offer linear returns and carry liquidation risks. Options provide convexity that allows for asymmetric gains. Many participants use 0DTE contracts for tactical trades or to manage risk through defined premiums. This utility remains consistent even when market volatility shifts significantly. Unlike linear perpetual futures, IBIT options provide convex payoffs where the sensitivity to the price of the underlying Bitcoin asset increases as the contract moves further into the money for the trader. You should know that these structural differences prevent perpetuals from serving as a substitute for 0DTE strategies. Cboe notes that while perpetual volumes follow Bitcoin price and market sentiment, zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) options trading remains steady across various market environments. This is evident in the SPX market, where 0DTE volume reached $2.3 trillion in the second quarter of 2026 and accounts for over 60% of all SPX options volume. This growth followed the 2022 addition of Tuesday and Thursday expiries to the existing weekly cycle for S&P 500 Index options. Cboe and NYSE American also impose conservative position limits of 25,000 contracts on the same side of the market for each Bitcoin ETF option.

IBIT market specifications

The iShares Bitcoin Trust remains the dominant player in the space, holding $48.42 billion on August 7 with a 0.25% management fee. IBIT led the week ending September 25 with $1.2 billion in inflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC received $701.7 million. Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB received $294.7 million that same week. I look at the recent session data from October 2 to see how these contracts behave.

This heavy call activity is a stark contrast to the period when Bitcoin fell below $76,000 following the CLARITY Act setback. I find the one-year NAV returns for this group of ETFs to be disappointing, as the five largest funds all saw their values fall by over 45% for the twelve months ended June 30, 2026. The concentration of call interest at the $90,000 and $100,000 strikes suggests that many traders are still eyeing upside potential. The $100,000 strike holds important psychological value for these large speculative positions. If Bitcoin price action reverses and breaks below the $84,000 support level, will this recent surge in call buying vanish?