Triggers

Spot crosses the strike where dealer net-gamma changes sign. Marks a regime shift — short-gamma below (dealers amplify moves) vs long-gamma above (dealers dampen them).

One option strike sees an outlier jump in open interest vs its own 24h baseline. Usually a sizable single-counterparty block — a directional bet or a hedge.

OKX perp funding rate flips sign or magnitude-spikes vs its 24h baseline. Captures sudden positioning re-leveraging across perp longs/shorts.

A near-term expiry has its top-3 OI strikes clustered within ±2% of spot and in long-gamma territory. The setup that produces pin-to-strike on settle day.

A 5-minute bucket of forced liquidations crosses a size threshold while spot moves in the same direction — or three consecutive same-side buckets do.

The 25-delta call-vs-put pricing skew flips sign over a 4h window. Calls suddenly become richer than puts (or vice versa) — sentiment turn.

The 7-day implied/realized volatility ratio crosses into vol-seller paradise (deep undersold) or out of it. Marks when premium math flips on/off.

OKX and MEXC perp funding annualized rates split wide with opposite signs. Institutional venue vs retail venue point different directions — bias mismatch.

Within 72h of a near-term expiry, spot sits more than 3% from max-pain on a $10M+ OI expiry. Dealer rebalancing pressure into settle.

Weekly ATM implied vol prices higher than the next monthly — backwardation. Front end is more uncertain than the back end: event hedging or crash-vol bid.

OKX funding rate jumps materially between consecutive 8-hour settles — magnitude shift or sign-flip on a session boundary. Discrete leverage reset.

Net premium paid by takers on a single strike over a rolling window spikes vs its 7-day baseline. Flags one-sided directional conviction — usually a buyer or seller making a large structured bet.

Open interest on a strike moves materially but the taker tape is nearly 50/50 buyer vs seller. OI moved without a clear aggressor — likely MM-internal position transfer rather than real flow.

Front-weekly and back-monthly expiries show opposite flow directions (cosine distance > 0.6). Calendar spread structure is being built — one leg is a hedge, the other is directional.

Block trade count in a rolling window exceeds the 95th percentile of a 7-day baseline. OTC-size positions landing in a tight window — institutional accumulation or distribution event.