Circle Internet closed at 80.84 USD with a 0.00 % change.

Circle Internet’s options tape showed a pronounced divergence between size and direction, as a $1.24 million long-dated put purchase overshadowed a $1.11 million short put sale. The dominant flow was a December 2026 $80.00 put buy, executed while the stock sat at $80.84, creating a slightly out-of-the-money bearish position. Meanwhile, an April 2027 $65.00 short put added premium-selling income flow. Despite the mixed structures, the larger premium outlay went toward downside protection, framing an overall cautious institutional tone for Circle Internet.

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Options Indicators

Circle Internet’s implied volatility is 73.86%, while its IV percentile is just 6.77%, which indicates that although the absolute IV level appears high, it is low relative to its own recent volatility range. In this context, options are on the cheap side rather than richly priced, and the IV/HV ratio of 0.99 further suggests implied volatility is roughly in line with realized volatility, pointing to fairly balanced option pricing without a pronounced premium over historical movement.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.35, signaling that overall contract activity leaned toward calls. However, the large-trade breakdown shows that put-side premium was more heavily concentrated in outright buying, which tempers the bullish read from the headline call/put volume ratio.

Large Trades

A PUT buy worth $1.24 million dominated the tape, with investors purchasing 1,350 contracts of the December 18, 2026 $80.00 put. With the stock reference price at $80.84, this strike sat slightly out of the money at the time of execution, making it a clear downside hedge or bearish directional wager that profits if CRCL weakens meaningfully over the longer term. The willingness to pay premium for a near-the-money long-dated put suggests traders were actively seeking protection against future downside or positioning for a more cautious fundamental outlook.

A $1.11 million short put sale was the other standout trade, consisting of 1,500 contracts of the April 16, 2027 $65.00 put sold while the strike was out of the money versus the $80.84 stock reference. This structure is generally bullish to neutral-bullish, as the seller collects premium and is effectively expressing confidence that CRCL will remain above $65.00 through expiration, or at least not decline enough to make the short put materially problematic. Even so, the broader large-trade tone still leans bearish, because the more aggressive premium outlay came from put buying rather than put selling, indicating that institutional flow showed greater interest in downside protection and negative exposure than in income-driven bullish positioning.

Strategy Reference

For traders who prefer not to post large margin on a naked short put, a bull put spread using the April 16, 2027 expiration could be considered: sell the $65.00 put and buy a lower strike such as the $55.00 put, reducing capital at risk while still collecting premium; alternatively, aggressive put sellers looking for a very low assignment probability may examine deeper out-of-the-money strikes below $50.00, though the cheap IV environment suggests limited absolute premium for such tail-risk selling.