Bitcoin options traders remain heavily positioned for downside protection, with both crypto‑native and exchange‑traded fund investors showing elevated demand for put contracts, according to a report by Anchorage Digital's head of research, David Lawant. The report examined options activity on Deribit, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Strategy (MSTR) to capture sentiment across crypto‑native, institutional and retail investors. Deribit and IBIT options markets displayed elevated put skew, indicating traders were paying premiums for downside protection rather than seeking upside exposure. The analysis showed defensive positioning at the 82nd percentile for IBIT and the 84th percentile for Deribit over five years. Implied volatility for the next week was priced higher than for the next month in roughly half of 2026, an inversion that historically occurs only briefly. Anchorage attributed the pattern to a series of macroeconomic, geopolitical and crypto‑specific events that have kept traders focused on near‑term risk. Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock fell to $82.53 on June 22, about 17% below its $100 par value, and its common shares traded around $77, roughly 23% below par. Despite the decline, the company’s options market remained well below stress levels seen in previous corrections, and put skew had not reached levels associated with forced deleveraging. Strategy, led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, holds 847,363 BTC on its balance sheet, the largest corporate Bitcoin reserve. Lawant said he will monitor a shift in which one‑month implied volatility exceeds one‑week implied volatility, a sign that markets are becoming more comfortable beyond immediate risks.