Black-Scholes Inadequacy

Assumption

The Black-Scholes model’s reliance on constant volatility presents a fundamental inadequacy when applied to cryptocurrency markets, where volatility clusters and exhibits pronounced temporal dependencies. This foundational assumption fails to capture the leptokurtosis and skewness frequently observed in crypto asset returns, leading to mispricing of options and inaccurate risk assessments. Consequently, the model’s predictive power diminishes significantly during periods of market stress or rapid price movements, common occurrences within the digital asset space. Calibration of the model to historical data often proves unstable, as volatility regimes shift unpredictably, rendering parameter estimates unreliable for future pricing.