What happened?
Options traders started rotating capital into XRP and Solana, with positive 25-delta risk reversals across Deribit expiries showing rising demand for calls on those altcoins. Bitcoin shows a persistent put bias and Ether’s outlook is mixed, so traders are favoring select mid-cap tokens after the October crash wiped out leveraged positions. As a result, XRP and SOL have outperformed BTC and ETH recently, with higher open interest and renewed bullish positioning into year-end.
Who does this affect?
Short-term traders, options desks, and retail investors who chase momentum stand to gain from the bullish flow into XRP and SOL. Long-term BTC holders may be indirectly affected if they sell calls for yield, which can create an apparent bearish options profile for Bitcoin. Market makers, smaller exchanges, and anyone trading these altcoin options face greater risk because liquidity is thinner than in the BTC/ETH markets, so price moves can be larger and less predictable.
Why does this matter?
A rotation of capital into mid-cap altcoins can amplify price moves and increase overall market volatility, creating both trading opportunities and higher tail risk. If it persists, this shift could weaken BTC/ETH dominance temporarily and redirect trading volumes and sentiment toward altcoins heading into the end of the year. But because options open interest is much lower for XRP and SOL, the rally could reverse quickly, so the market impact may be large but short-lived and dependent on sentiment staying bullish.