Two ratios: a stock of positions and a flow of trades
The put/call ratio divides puts by calls for the same underlying and coverage. OI put/call = put open interest / call open interest. Open interest is the stock of outstanding positions at a snapshot. 24h volume put/call = put 24h volume / call 24h volume. Volume is the flow of trading over the last 24 hours. A contract can trade repeatedly without creating new open interest, so the ratios can move differently.
Synthetic example, not live data: assume 12,000 puts and 20,000 calls outstanding, each representing one coin. Then 12,000 / 20,000 = 0.60 for OI. If the same set trades 3,000 put coin units and 2,000 call coin units in 24 hours, 3,000 / 2,000 = 1.50 for volume. Calls dominate the outstanding positions while puts dominate recent volume. When the call denominator is zero, this site shows an unavailable ratio, not zero or infinity.
Units on this site
The options overview sums coin-denominated open interest and 24h volume across the venues it lists, separately for BTC and ETH. These are amounts of underlying coin represented by contracts, after contract-size normalization, rather than unadjusted contract counts. The ratio has no unit. It is not a USD-notional-weighted ratio. The Bybit option ticker fields distinguish open interest, volume24h and turnover24h; volume and dollar turnover are different inputs.
The overview's ratios include all unexpired expiries in the eligible snapshot. A selected-expiry ratio on the Bitcoin options page uses only that expiry. Sum the puts and calls first, then divide: averaging individual expiry or venue ratios gives a different result. Check the expiry label, listed venues and observation time. These figures do not cover the whole crypto options market.
Deribit's book summary documentation likewise defines separate open_interest and 24h volume fields, with units depending on instrument type. It is a field reference, not a claim that Deribit is included here; the tool's venue labels define actual coverage.
Reading a ratio without turning it into a forecast
Above 1 means put OI exceeds call OI for the OI ratio, or put volume exceeds call volume for the volume ratio. Below 1 means the reverse; 1 means equal amounts. Compare the ratio with its own history under consistent coverage, rather than treating 1 as a bullish or bearish threshold.
Both puts and calls can be bought or sold as part of hedges, spreads and covered strategies. Every outstanding contract has two sides. A put may protect a long holding; a call may be sold against one. Aggregate OI and volume do not reveal the trader's complete portfolio or trade direction. This is not a sentiment poll, and a high ratio establishes neither a price forecast nor a successful contrarian signal.
Why equity put/call ratios are different
Cboe's daily statistics distinguish equity, index and total put/call ratios alongside volume and open interest. Those product groups have different participant mixes and hedging uses. Their daily trading-session statistics and contract units also differ from crypto venues' rolling 24h, coin-normalized figures. A crypto OI ratio is not equivalent to an equity volume ratio; no shared sentiment threshold is implied.
For put/call compared with perp positioning, learn why options OI share and top-trader long share have different units, venue scopes and matched-hour coverage.
Primary market statistics and exchange field documentation checked on 17 October 2026: Cboe: daily put/call statistics · Deribit API: book summary fields · Bybit API: option ticker fields. Not financial advice.