This week marks the Christmas holiday period, with U.S. stock markets closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. European and American institutions and individual investors typically stay away from the markets during this time, a trend that generally persists until after New Year's Day. This Friday, the 26th, is the annual settlement date, with over 50% of total options positions currently awaiting expiration. Most institutions opted to roll positions ahead of schedule. Starting last week, implied volatility (IV) across major expiries began declining noticeably, while block trades increased in proportion. With declining volatility, combined with the Christmas trading period and year-end rollover, three factors have converged. Over the past month, Bitcoin's implied volatility across major expiries has fallen by over 5% across the board, with short-to-medium-term IV dropping more than 10%. Ethereum's IV has declined even more significantly. These data collectively indicate subdued market expectations, with consensus pointing toward low volatility for the next fortnight. Consistent with our December forecast based on these metrics—which predicted a low-volatility period—the coming half-month is likely to remain subdued, with a high probability of a gradual decline.(Greeks.live)