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).