Options trading for XRP and Solana flashed renewed bullish sentiment following a market crash, contrasting with persistent gloom in bitcoin and ether. The 25-delta risk reversal gauge turned positive for XRP and SOL across near-term expiries on Deribit. This shift highlights diverging trader expectations in the cryptocurrency market.
In the wake of a sharp cryptocurrency market crash on October 10, 2025, XRP and Solana emerged as outliers with bullish momentum in their options markets. XRP's price had plummeted from $2.80 to as low as $1.77 on some exchanges, while Solana dropped from $220 to $188. By the time of the report, XRP traded at $2.33, with Solana at $187.34, according to CoinDesk data. Current prices stood at XRP $2.3862, Solana $187.34, bitcoin $108,474.38, and ether $3,969.25.
The key indicator, the 25-delta risk reversal on Deribit—the world's largest crypto options exchange, handling over 80% of activity—showed positive readings for XRP and Solana across all available expiries: October 31, November 28, and December 26. This strategy compares implied volatilities of moderately out-of-the-money call and put options; a positive value means traders pay more for calls, signaling bullish bias, while a negative favors puts for downside protection.
In contrast, bitcoin's risk reversals indicated puts trading at a premium relative to calls across all tenors, extending to September 2026, reflecting ongoing downside concerns. Ether displayed bearish sentiment through December expiry options, turning bullish thereafter. The post-crash demand for puts had spiked, but XRP and Solana options flipped to constructive sentiment.
Perpetual futures painted a more neutral picture across major cryptocurrencies, with annualized funding rates near zero, per Velo data. This subdued leverage demand follows the October crash, which liquidated $20 billion in futures bets. Note that risk reversals for XRP and Solana may be less reliable due to their smaller market size and volume compared to bitcoin and ether.
Bitcoin's put bias partly stems from call overwriting practices, where traders sell calls against spot holdings for yield, rather than pure bearishness.