Crypto options glossary
How do you read a Bitcoin option chain?
An option chain lists every strike for one expiry, with calls on one side, puts on the other and strikes in the middle. For each option it shows the bid (what buyers pay), the ask (what sellers want), implied volatility, delta and open interest. The row nearest Bitcoin's price is at the money.
- One expiry per chain; strikes run top to bottom.
- Bid: the best buyer. Ask: the best seller. The gap is the spread.
- IV, delta and open interest sit beside each quote.
- BTC prices are per one Bitcoin; one lot is 0.001 BTC.
| Calls | Strike | Puts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bid | Ask | Bid | Ask | |
| 991.0 | 1,003.0 | 83,000 | 45.0 | 47.0 |
| 816.0 | 827.0 | 83,200 | 61.0 | 63.0 |
| 632.0 | 640.0 | 83,400 | 84.0 | 87.0 |
| 474.0 | 481.0 | 83,600 | 123.0 | 126.0 |
| 340.0 | 345.0 | 83,800 | 184.0 | 188.0 |
| 230.0 | 233.0 | 84,000 | 275.0 | 278.0 |
| 151.0 | 154.0 | 84,200 | 396.0 | 401.0 |
| 96.0 | 99.0 | 84,400 | 544.0 | 552.0 |
| 68.0 | 71.0 | 84,600 | 712.0 | 722.0 |
| 48.0 | 51.0 | 84,800 | 892.0 | 905.0 |
| 36.0 | 38.0 | 85,000 | 1,080.0 | 1,093.0 |
BTC at 83,945. The highlighted row is at the money. Greeks are Delta Exchange’s own.
Questions people ask
Which price do I pay?
A market buy fills at the ask and a market sell at the bid, unless you place a limit order in between. The gap is a cost you pay on entry.
Why do strikes far from the price have wide spreads?
Fewer traders quote them, so the gap between bid and ask widens. Strikes near the money usually have tighter spreads.
How do I pick an expiry?
Daily expiries for a view on the next hours, weekly for a few days, monthly for longer ideas. Bitcoin on Delta Exchange India has all three.
What do CE and PE mean on an option chain?
CE is a call option and PE is a put option. The labels come from Indian markets, where they stand for call European and put European, and many Indian traders use them for crypto options too.
Why is the at-the-money row highlighted?
Because it is the reference point for everything else: it splits in-the-money from out-of-the-money strikes, carries the most time value, and its implied volatility is the one usually quoted for the market.
What does it mean when a strike shows no bid?
Nobody is currently offering to buy that option, which is common on strikes far from the price. It can still be bought at the ask, but selling it may be hard, so treat it as illiquid.
How to read a chain in five steps
The same order works on any exchange.
- 1
Pick the expiry. A chain shows one expiry at a time. Bitcoin has a daily, a weekly and a monthly; choose the one that matches how long your view needs.
- 2
Find the at-the-money row. It is the strike nearest Bitcoin's price, usually highlighted. Calls above it and puts below it are out of the money.
- 3
Choose your side. Calls are on one side of the strike column and puts on the other. Decide which you need before looking at prices.
- 4
Read the bid and the ask. The ask is what you pay to buy now; the bid is what you receive to sell now. The gap between them is a cost.
- 5
Check the other columns. Implied volatility shows how dear the option is, delta how it moves with Bitcoin, and open interest how many contracts are open at that strike.
One row, read in full
An example with round numbers. Bitcoin is at 80,000 and the weekly 81,000 call shows: bid 880, ask 920, implied volatility 41%, delta 0.40, open interest 250.
To buy 10 lots, which is 0.01 BTC, at the market you pay the ask: 920 × 0.01 = 9.20 USDT. If you sold them straight back you would receive the bid, 8.80 USDT, so the spread costs 0.40 USDT before any fee. The option moves about 0.40 for each dollar Bitcoin moves, the market is pricing 41% a year of movement at that strike, and 250 contracts are open there.
What each column tells you
The columns on Algoclear's chain, in plain words.
| Column | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Bid | Best price a buyer offers | What you get if you sell now |
| Ask | Best price a seller wants | What you pay if you buy now |
| IV | Implied volatility at that strike | How expensive the option is |
| Delta | Move per dollar of Bitcoin | Exposure, and a rough chance of ending in the money |
| Open interest | Contracts still open | Where traders are positioned |
Column by column
On Algoclear's chain, calls sit to the left of the strike column and puts to the right. Each side shows the bid, ask, implied volatility, delta and open interest, with the at-the-money row marked. Prices are quoted per one Bitcoin, in USDT.
What the chain tells you beyond prices
Where open interest is heaviest shows where traders are positioned. How implied volatility changes across strikes shows the skew: whether the market is paying more for downside protection or for upside calls.
Common mistakes when reading a chain
Each costs money quietly.
- Reading the quote as the cost. Quotes are per one Bitcoin; one lot is 0.001 BTC, so a quote of 900 costs 0.90 USDT a lot. The sum is on the lot size page.
- Sending a market order into a wide spread on a far strike. A limit order between the bid and the ask usually does better.
- Looking at the wrong expiry. The same strike has very different prices on the daily and the weekly.
- Comparing prices without comparing implied volatility. A cheap-looking option can still be the expensive one.
Written by the Algoclear team · Updated 22 September 2026 · Examples use Bitcoin options on Delta Exchange India.
See it on your own trades.
Every tool is free to explore. Build it, try it on paper, and let the engine run it when you are ready.
Start freeOptions trading carries risk, and you can lose money. Algoclear is a trading tool, not investment advice.