Insurance Against Price Slides in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Now Costliest Since April Crash

2 months ago 9

Protection against price drops in BlackRock's spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF, IBIT, is now at its priciest since the early April market slide.

Aug 18, 2025, 2:49 p.m.

Protection against price drops in BlackRock's spot bitcoin

exchange-traded fund

(ETF)

, is now at its priciest since the early April market slide.

On Monday, the spread between implied volatilities (IV) for 25-delta puts and 25-delta calls for the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) rose to 4.4, the widest since April 10, according to data source Market Chameleon.

In other words, put options, which insure the buyer against price drops in the underlying asset, traded at a premium of 4.4 IV relative to calls, or bullish bets. It's a sign investors are increasingly seeking protection against price declines, reflecting growing concerns about IBIT's near-term outlook.

IBIT gapped lower at $65.72 on Monday, tracking overnight losses in the spot bitcoin market. At press time, the ETF shares were trading at $65.44, down 1.51% for the day, having reached a record high of $69.89 last week, according to data source TradingView.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

AI Boost

“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk's AI Policy.

CoinDesk Bot

More For You

Core Scientific Faces Valuation Disconnect; PT Hiked to $22: Jefferies

Celsius and Core Scientific hope to raise millions via mining rig vouchers (alvarez/Getty Images)

The bank reiterated its buy rating on CORZ and raised its price target for the bitcoin miner to $22 from $16 to reflect the CoreWeave acquisition.

What to know:

  • Jefferies warned that if CoreWeave’s stock remains at current levels, Core Scientific shareholders may be inclined to reject the deal.
  • The bank raised its CORZ price target to $22 from $16 to reflect the acquisition.
  • If CoreWeave's stock doesn’t recover ahead of the vote, Jefferies sees room for renegotiation
Read Entire Article