Deribit, a crypto derivatives exchange company, has announced the launch of its Bitcoin Volatility Index, DVOL. The next goal for the Deribit team is to launch futures on this index; which will enable traders to take a position based on the market view on near-term volatility.
Features
DVOL uses the implied volatility smile of the relevant expiries to output one number that gives a gauge of the 30 day-annualized implied volatility.
In traditional market’s, the volatility index is known as a “fear gauge” — when looking at implied volatility in bitcoin, Deribit instead refers to this volatility index as an “action gauge” — as bitcoin options often have positive skew and the large moves are often expected on the upside as well as the downside.
“Market participants need to be able to better understand as well as manage volatility. As the BTC options market has matured, the time is now to launch DVOL enabling further market growth and hopefully soon welcoming a new suite of volatility traders on Deribit.“
– John Jansen, Deribit’s CEO.
Click here for more information regarding the structure of the volatility index.
