BTC & ETH Volatility Risk Premium

What is the volatility risk premium (VRP)?

The gap between what options markets are pricing for future volatility (implied volatility, from Deribit’s DVOL) and what BTC or ETH actually realized over the trailing 30 days (historical/realized volatility). Positive premium means options are priced above what recently happened; a compressed or negative premium means implied volatility is running close to, or even below, realized moves.

Why does implied volatility usually sit above realized volatility?

Across most markets, options sellers demand compensation for underwriting uncertain future moves — a structural term premium that shows up as implied volatility running persistently above what later gets realized. A near-zero or negative reading is the unusual case, not the norm.

How is this different from the Implied Volatility or Realized Volatility tools?

Those two tools each show one side of the equation on its own — DVOL is the options market’s forward-looking read, the Realized Volatility Gauge is what actually happened. This page combines both into the single spread professional vol desks track, so you don’t have to hold two numbers in your head and subtract them yourself.

Is this a trading signal?

No — it describes the current relationship between two volatility measures, not a forecast or a recommendation to trade options. The premium can stay elevated, compressed, or inverted for extended stretches without any follow-through. Treat it as descriptive context, not advice.