Ether (ETH) options implied volatility, a measure out of the expected price swings as per the options markets premium, has dropped below Bitcoin'southward (BTC) for the first time ever.

This could signal that investors have given up expectations of a cost decoupling, or they simply expect ETH price moves to mirror Bitcoin.

In the example of potential catalysts for significant price moves, unsaid volatility tends to motility up whereas an absenteeism of triggers causes volatility to recede, alongside a diminishing premium on options markets.

Deribit options implied volatility

Deribit options implied volatility. Source: Skew

The above chart shows a continuous driblet on both avails' volatility, which can be partially explained past the Bitcoin halving in mid-May. At the fourth dimension, investors had reasons to believe prices could oscillate more than drastically as the possibility of diverse miner capitulations loomed.

At the same time, positive news from strong inflows by Grayscale Investments, advancements on the Ethereum two.0 testnet, and a growing DeFi ecosystem boosted traders' expectations.

Crypto markets remain relatively volatile

S&P 500 3-month volatility

S&P 500 3-month volatility. Source: Federal Reserve

Volatility within the crypto marketplace remains well above the level seen in the S&P 500 and that should be no surprise.

There are a handful of reasons behind this divergence and some of the more notable ones are: the enormous untapped potential of digital assets and existing uncertainties related to the necessary evolution of various protocols.

Ether options markets signal to bearish sentiment

ETH options Put/Call ratios

ETH options Put/Phone call ratios. Source: Skew

The above chart signals investors have been trading equal amounts of put and call ETH options. The indicator reached its highest level in 1 year, having been previously skewed to the call option (bullish) side.

BTC options Put/Call ratios

BTC options Put/Call ratios. Source: Skew

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's put/call options ratio tells a unlike story as put (bearish) options total 40% of the current open interest which is downwards from an 80% pre-halving top .

This shouldn't be interpreted as a bull/bear indicator by itself every bit it depends on the strike levels those options have been prepare at.

Longer-term Ether options are bullish

ETH options open interest by expiry

ETH options open interest by expiry. Source: Skew

Longer-term ETH options are curiously more than active than next month's contract and that'southward a stark divergence from the BTC markets.

Although it is impossible to pinpoint the exact reason, one might infer that the ongoing Ethereum 2.0 development is behind this.

Cointelegraph recently listed the benefits and risks of these upgrades past explaining potential issues for users to migrate balances between those blockchains.

December 2022 ETH options

December 2022 ETH options. Source: Deribit

Although it might seem that the ETH put/call ratio is counterbalanced, when analyzing strikes for the slightly optimist calls ($240 to $280) to the slightly negative puts ($180 to $220) there's a clear imbalance of two:1 favoring bullish calls.

The same blueprint emerges for the September 2022 expiry.

July 2022 ETH options

July 2022 ETH options. Source: Deribit

Short-term Ether options are bearish

Oddly plenty, for the July 2022 ETH contract, at that place's an impressive 4:1 ratio favoring put options (bearish) close to current market levels.

This shows investors are taking advantage of the recent volatility downtrend to create strategies that protect against short-term downside, while as well aiming for call options (bullish) year-end.

ETH 1-month futures premium

ETH one-month futures premium. Source: SKEW

Correlation to Bitcoin nears an all time high

To better sympathize how bearish ETH investors are for the upcoming month, one needs to analyze future contracts. The higher the premium of next month's futures contract, the more optimistic traders are.

Data from Skew indicates that although premium remains healthy at 2%, the excessive optimism seen before this month has vanished.

Bitcoin 20-day correlation to Ether

Bitcoin twenty-twenty-four hour period correlation to Ether. Source: Tradingview

The 20-day correlation between Bitcoin and Ether recently climbed back to 0.90 levels, indicating prices of both assets take been moving quite similarly. This partially explains declining ETH options implied volatility as investors adapt to high-correlation markets.

Chief takeaways

Ether's electric current low volatility indicates that options markets do not await any critical catalysts for either bull or comport cases. Short-term options show intense bearish activity, while September and December markets are skewed for the phone call options (bullish).

Low volatility does not imply that investors wait a toll upswing or downswing, it simply reflects reduced expectations of major price catalysts. As reported by Cointelegraph,  there take been a couple of bullish indicators for Ether, including increasing user activity and surging institutional demand.

For those willing to benefit from the potential upside of Ethereum ii.0, this is an excellent opportunity to buy longer-term call options.

Depression volatility translates to reduced costs for buying options contracts, which, different futures markets, provides a mode to go along open positions despite brusk term negative price swings.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and practise not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. Y'all should behave your own research when making a decision.