According to @KobeissiLetter, retail options trading volume now accounts for a record 21.7% of total market activity, with the 21-day moving average rising by 10 points since 2021 and retail call option activity reaching up to 8.2 million contracts, indicating aggressive risk-taking by smaller accounts (source: The Kobeissi Letter on X, Jan 18, 2026). Elevated net call buying has historically coincided with short-term volatility and subsequent return reversals in underlying equities, underscoring the need to monitor positioning and implied volatility into catalysts (source: Pan and Poteshman, The Review of Financial Studies, 2006). Because crypto has shown stronger co-movements with equities since 2020, a jump in equity options-driven volatility can transmit to BTC and ETH through risk sentiment channels, warranting close tracking of crypto implied vol and basis (source: IMF Blog, Crypto Prices Move More in Sync With Stocks, Jan 2022). Traders should monitor VIX term structure, single-stock gamma exposure, and in crypto the DVOL indices and CME BTC futures basis for early signs of volatility spillovers and liquidity shifts (source: Cboe VIX methodology; Deribit DVOL reference; CME Group Bitcoin Futures overview).

According to @Andre_Dragosch, there is significant negative gamma exposure in Bitcoin options between $95k and $102k, creating extra amplification to the upside in that zone, source: @Andre_Dragosch. According to @Andre_Dragosch, dealers short gamma will need to buy a lot of spot BTC to hedge, indicating forced spot demand that can accelerate upside near these levels, source: @Andre_Dragosch.

According to the source, BTC options open interest reportedly reached a record $63B with call positioning clustered at $120K+ strikes, suggesting concentrated top-side exposure into upcoming expiries (source: the source). Elevated OI around round-number strikes can magnify dealer hedging flows and increase squeeze risk if spot advances toward those levels, a dynamic documented in Bitcoin options markets (source: Deribit Insights). Traders should track strike OI distribution, net gamma, and expiry calendars on Deribit and CME to anticipate potential pinning or breakouts near $120K, aligning entries with liquidity pockets (source: Deribit; source: CME Group). Validate the $63B figure and strike skew via real-time dashboards before taking risk, cross-referencing Deribit order books and third-party analytics such as Laevitas to confirm positioning (source: Deribit; source: Laevitas). Risk management: adjust sizing for higher vega exposure, monitor 25-delta call-put skew and term structure for confirmation of bullish sentiment, and prepare for post-expiry volatility normalization (source: Deribit Insights).