Big premium means a large dollar amount committed to a single strike in one day. It's sometimes called a "block" — a single negotiated print — but, like sweeps, exact block detection needs the trade tape.
Catalyst reads the 15-minute delayed options tape, where a block is detected as a single large negotiated print. When one prints on a contract today we label it "Block" — an observed event, shown with the number of events and the dollars across them.
If the tape is unavailable we fall back to today's hourly print data. When a contract's prints averaged 100 or more contracts each with $50k or more traded in a single hour, that is block-sized by construction, and we label it "block-like" — an inference, not one observed print.
Without live prints we surface it honestly as big premium: a lot of money landed on one contract. That concentration of dollars is what makes it notable, whether or not it arrived as a single block.
Related terms
- Volume spike ("sweep") — Volume concentrated at a single strike — an unusually large share of the day's contracts there.
- Unusual options activity — Options volume well above a ticker's normal level. A prompt to look, not a direction.
- Open interest (OI) — The number of option contracts currently open. Shows positions that exist — not their direction.
See it in the flow
Open the dashboard to watch real options flow free, or read the beginner guides. Watch-only — not financial advice.