Key Metrics (August 12, 4pm -> August 20, 4pm Hong Kong time):

BTC/USD + 0.2% （$ 58, 500 -> $ 58, 600），ETH/USD + 2.75% （$ 2, 550 -> $ 2, 620）

BTC/USD 12-month (year-end) ATM volatility + 0.7% (61.5 -> 62.2), 12-month 25-day risk reversal volatility + 0.5% (3.6 -> 4.1)

BTC波动率：一周回顾2024年8月12日–8月19日

  • Overall, global risk markets performed well, with BTC prices fluctuating in a very narrow price range. Despite the low volatility of BTC, we still observed high high-frequency volatility as the market repeatedly fluctuated in the key range of 58.5k-59.5k and struggled to stabilize at an equilibrium level.

  • BTC is expected to remain in the 54k to 64k price range in the short term.

  • The market appears to be forming a tightening wedge/triangle pattern, suggesting we may see an inflection point before the end of the week. However, if prices fail to break out of this range, we expect it to be difficult for realized volatility to rise significantly.

Market events:

  • Traditional financial markets rebounded strongly last week, but interestingly, cryptocurrency markets lagged significantly. It is reminiscent of the behavior of U.S. Treasury yields (which, despite rebounding from their lows, have not moved significantly since).

  • This weekend the focus is on Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole conference. The market expects at least one rate cut (even a 50 basis point cut is possible).

  • Geopolitics was relatively quiet last week, and markets are starting to take on more of a summer vibe as the U.S. Labor Day holiday approaches.

ATM Implied Volatility:

BTC波动率：一周回顾2024年8月12日–8月19日

  • Despite the high high frequency realized volatility, front end volatility continued to decline during the week, mainly due to the narrowing of the volatility range (i.e. terminal distribution). However, Vega received good buying in the early part of the week, which made the volatility curve steeper.

  • As the market focuses on the election, there is more demand for Election Day put spreads. Overall, the weighting of election impact reflected in pricing looks quite reasonable.

  • If the spot range remains stable, then volatility is expected to narrow further in August, making September steeper.

Skewness/Convexity:

BTC波动率：一周回顾2024年8月12日–8月19日BTC波动率：一周回顾2024年8月12日–8月19日

  • Convexity and skew remain sideways this week; the front-end butterfly spread rises slightly as ATM volatility declines.

  • Spot-volatility correlation remains locally negative but weaker than last week. Below 55-56k, we expect gamma demand, while at 61-62k, we expect volatility to remain weak.

Good luck with your trading this week!