Put Option Volume Smashes Record as Traders Pile Into Downside Bets
US put option volume on CBOE hit an all-time high of 11.23 million contracts Thursday, blowing past the previous record of 10.22 million set in April 2025. The 20-day average has climbed to roughly 7 million contracts, and eight of the ten busiest put days ever have landed in 2026.
Traders went hard at the downside on Thursday. Put option volume on CBOE ripped to a record 11.23 million contracts, according to @KobeissiLetter, clearing the old all-time high of 10.22 million contracts from April 4, 2025.
The surge isn't a one-day blip. The 20-day average for put volume has climbed to about 7 million contracts, sitting near the highest level ever recorded. For context, that average hovered around 4 million contracts back in 2022.
The history books are being rewritten fast. Eight of the ten heaviest daily put volume readings on record have now happened in 2026, per @KobeissiLetter — a sign that hedging and bearish positioning have become the default posture for a lot of desks.
Put volume alone doesn't tell you direction — plenty of it is protection buying rather than outright shorting. But the scale of the activity is hard to ignore, and it points to a market that's paying up for insurance rather than cruising on autopilot.
What happens next depends on whether that demand keeps building or starts to unwind. For now, the options tape is screaming louder than it has at any point on record.
TopicsCBOE · @KobeissiLetter
Source: x.com
Written by Paparazzi with AI. Not financial advice.
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