VIX Perpetual Futures on Cboe: A Convergence of Traditional and Crypto Markets

Cboe is exploring perpetual futures on the VIX, also known as Wall Street's 'fear gauge'. This could bring more traders to volatility markets. The VIX Index measures the expected 30-day volatility of the S&P 500 based on options pricing.

The existing derivatives tied to the VIX include futures and exchange-traded products. However, these contracts expire, requiring traders to roll or shift their bets, which can be costly. Perpetual swaps never expire and use a funding rate mechanism to anchor the contract price to the spot index.

This development marks how quickly traditional and crypto market structures are converging to support advanced volatility products. Cboe's plan is still in its early stages with no contract specs or filing yet.