Bitcoin’s volatility has declined as its price stabilized around $70,000, but traders are still aggressively hedging against further losses. According to VanEck, realized volatility has dropped from 80 to 50 over the past month.
Even with calmer markets, demand for downside protection remains elevated. Total premiums paid for put options reached $685 million in the last 30 days-well above 77% of historical monthly readings since 2025.
The put/call ratio averaged 0.77, peaking at 0.84, levels not seen since 2021. This indicates unusually strong demand for protective bets relative to bullish positions.
Historically, such defensive positioning has preceded market recoveries. VanEck notes these conditions often occur closer to market bottoms than tops.
Long-term holder activity also shows signs of stabilization, with fewer BTC transfers among holders keeping coins for over a year. Bitcoin dipped nearly 1% in 24 hours but remains up over 5% monthly, trading at $69,891-still 45% below its all-time high of $126,080 set in October.