ETH Risk Reversal Shifts Back to Put Premium After Pectra Upgrade
The Ethereum risk reversal has reverted to a put premium after the Pectra upgrade. This shift follows a period where an ETH rally above $2,400 drove 7-day OTM call option skew toward a one-month high of nearly 4% towards calls. The market pays more for downside protection than for upside calls.
The 2026-09-18 expiration options show calls with an average IV of 118.96%, while puts have an IV of 55.28%. This reflects a transition from call-heavy demand back to the put-premium regime, which is different from equity markets where index options often price negative risk reversal.
The Pectra upgrade went live on May 7, 2025, and changed how validators manage funds. The update allows stakers to hold between 32 and 2,048 ETH, increasing the maximum effective balance to 2,048 ETH.