# Options gamma in 2 minutes

Source: https://tactiq.pro/docs/options-gamma · Options gamma · updated 2026-10-31

Option dealers hedge: long gamma calms moves, short gamma speeds them. The two layers to start with on BTC and ETH, a beginner routine and the honest limits.

BTC and ETH options trade on Deribit. The firms that take the other side of those trades (the dealers) usually do not want to bet on direction, so they hedge by buying or selling the coin. That hedging is real buying and selling. The options layers estimate *where* it may calm price and where it may speed price up. Gold has no options layers: Deribit lists no gold options.

### The one idea: long gamma calms, short gamma speeds

**Gamma** is how much a dealer's hedge must change when price moves. What matters is its sign:

| Dealers are… | When price rises they… | When price falls they… | Effect on price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Long gamma | sell | buy | Leans against moves: calmer, more back-and-forth |
| Short gamma | buy | sell | Chases moves: faster, moves can run further |

An analogy: long gamma is a thermostat. When the room gets hot it cools it, when it gets cold it heats it. Short gamma is a crowd at an exit: when some people run, others run too. The price where dealers switch from one to the other is **zero gamma** (also called the flip). Which side of it is calm is not fixed: it depends on where the options sit, so Tactiq works it out from the data and writes it on the chart.

### The two options layers to start with

![A 30-minute BTC chart from 28 to 31 October with two options layers: a teal line tagged +γ wall 78,830 · slows price above price, a yellow line tagged Zero γ 76,570 · calm above / fast below and a magenta line tagged −γ wall 76,320 · speeds price below it, with magenta diamonds near 80,000 and 82,000 and teal squares near 76,000 and 78,000 for big option trades.](https://tactiq.pro/docs/chart/gamma-default.webp)

*BTC perp, 30m, 28–31 Oct 2026: gamma envelopes (three lines) and big option flows (markers).*

- **Gamma envelopes:** three lines. Yellow *Zero γ*, whose tag says which side is calm (here "calm above / fast below"), teal *+γ wall* ("slows price") and magenta *−γ wall* ("speeds price"). See [Gamma envelopes](https://tactiq.pro/docs/gamma-envelopes).
- **Big option flows:** diamonds (calls) and squares (puts) where the largest option trades happened. See [Big option flows](https://tactiq.pro/docs/big-option-flows).

These are the only options layers on at first (the rest of the chart has its own defaults, see [The chart, layer by layer](https://tactiq.pro/docs/chart-layers)). Every other options layer is in **Indicators → Options (estimated, Deribit)** and explained under [Advanced](https://tactiq.pro/docs/gamma-levels-profiles). The layers that read dealer positions (profile, levels, zones, heatmap, hedging profile, dynamic walls, dealer pressure, sentiment and the net gamma pane) follow one rule. Dealer positions come from your **Gamma model** setting. The default, *taker-flow*, replays every Deribit option trade since listing and assumes the side that did not hit the trade is a dealer. *Classic* assumes dealers are long every call and short every put. Both are estimates. The expected-move bands come from options' implied volatility, not from dealer positions.

### A beginner routine

1. **Read the yellow tag.** It says which side of zero γ is calm (*calm above / fast below* or *calm below / fast above*), or *No flip near price · all calm* / *· all fast*. On the calm side, the model expects more back-and-forth; on the fast side, moves that run further. Tactiq has not measured this in crypto.
2. **Is price near the teal line?** Price may slow there. Be careful buying a breakout straight into it.
3. **Is price near the magenta line?** Moves can speed up through it. Use a wider stop with a smaller size, so the money at risk stays the same.
4. **Confirm with flow.** A gamma line is a place to watch. The footprint, delta and the zones tell you what traders actually do there.

### Honest limits

- **Deribit only.** About half of BTC options open interest and most of ETH's (as of October 2026). CME, ETF options and other venues are not seen.
- **Dealer positions are estimated.** Nobody publishes who holds which option. A trade's passive side is not always a dealer.
- **Places to watch, not signals.** A gamma level does not say price will stop or turn there.
- **Unproven in crypto.** That gamma predicts crypto prices has not been shown. Every options number is labelled estimated.