Glassnode has transformed from an on-chain analytics provider into a full-stack derivatives platform, quadrupling its options metrics from 10 to 40 dedicated tools. The expansion, completed in Q4 2025, now covers BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and PAXG across Deribit, OKX, and Bybit exchanges.

The timing matters. With Bitcoin hovering around $95,000 as of January 16, 2026, and institutional capital increasingly flowing through derivatives rather than spot markets, options have become primary drivers of price dynamics. Glassnode’s bet is that traders need to see both sides—who holds risk on-chain and how that risk gets priced in options.

Premium Flows Replace Volume as the Conviction Signal

The centerpiece of the new suite treats premium—actual dollars spent on options—as the definitive measure of conviction rather than contract volume or open interest. A pile of cheap out-of-the-money options might look significant by OI, but represents minimal capital at risk.

The platform now separates taker flows by intent: call buyers versus call sellers, put buyers versus put sellers. Since takers pay the spread for immediate execution, their activity signals urgency. Traders can now identify strike-level magnets where positioning builds, and distinguish between end-users aggressively buying crash protection versus quietly selling premium in anticipation of range-bound conditions.

Combo Strategy Reconstruction

Raw option-by-option flow often misleads. What appears as “one call bought, one call sold” might actually be a single taker executing a strangle—a pure volatility bet with no directional bias.

Glassnode now reconstructs multi-leg trades into canonical strategies: straddles, strangles, spreads, condors, and ladders. This tracks net premium for entire structures rather than isolated legs, revealing whether traders are paying for volatility, harvesting carry, or running structured hedges across maturities.

Gamma Exposure Maps Dealer Hedging Flows

The new Gamma Exposure (GEX) metrics address a structural reality: dealer hedging flows are large relative to crypto market depth. When market makers maintain delta-neutral positions, they must continuously hedge gamma exposure by trading futures or spot.

At price levels with high positive gamma, dealers absorb shocks—buying dips, selling rallies—creating “gamma gravity” that pins prices near strikes. At negative gamma levels, hedging amplifies moves in both directions. Monitoring where GEX flips sign helps anticipate regime shifts between quiet and volatile conditions.

Interpolated IV Grid Across Deltas and Tenors

The volatility surface tools now provide call and put implied volatility across multiple deltas (5D through 50D) and standard tenors (1-week through 6-month) for all covered assets. Previously, Glassnode only offered 25-delta skew without individual legs.

The standardized delta buckets reveal cross-asset divergences. If SOL 25D call IV rises while BTC stays flat, that divergence might signal rotation toward higher-beta assets. The term structure shows whether markets are pricing short-term stress versus longer-dated repricing.

A proprietary Glassnode Skew Index integrates the full volatility smile through UpVol and DownVol, rather than just comparing two points like traditional 25-delta skew. Positive values indicate the market paying more for upside tails; negative values show preference for downside protection.

What This Means for Traders

The practical applications are specific. Delta skew serves as a fear-and-greed barometer—positive skew means premium for upside calls, negative skew indicates a rush for put protection. Historical extremes in either direction often mark local tops or capitulation bottoms.

IV heatmaps display the full volatility surface in one view, making it easy to spot skew asymmetries and tail-risk pricing. Elevated IV at low-delta puts (−10D to −5D) without price follow-through often signals fear saturation and potential volatility compression.

Glassnode says the roadmap includes deeper market structure analytics and further integration between on-chain and derivatives data. For institutional teams with custom requirements, the company is offering direct consultation on implementation.

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