Understanding Net Premium and Its Implications in Options Trading

Crypto KOL Murphy posted on X that a negative Net Premium indicates that a particular strike price option has been net sold, meaning the seller is the active party. Typically, market makers are passive participants, so the heatmap often reflects the active betting results from the user side. However, market makers also adjust their positions and inventory actively. Therefore, it is not accurate to identify the seller solely based on the Net Premium. To make a comprehensive judgment, it is necessary to consider how long the negative value persists, whether it is accompanied by an increase in open interest (OI), and if the spot price is being suppressed. If the price fluctuates within the negative value range and volatility is compressed, it usually indicates a Long Gamma zone. For instance, as observed for the February 27 expiration date, the GEX positions around 60,000 and 68,000 are positive, closely aligning with the heatmap positions.