Perp futures linked to ‘bitcoin VIX’ debut on Hyperliquid

Perpetual futures on the Bitcoin Volmex Implied Volatility Index (BVIV) debuted on Hyperliquid on Monday, giving traders on the onchain exchange a way to bet on the degree, not direction, of bitcoin’s price swings.

The BVIV Index, often described as a “bitcoin VIX,” tracks cryptocurrency’s expected 30-day implied or expected volatility in real time. The index is analogous to Cboe’s VIX index, which tracks the 30-day implied volatility in Wall Street’s benchmark equity index, S&P 500.

The new perpetual market lets traders go long or short the volatility index directly, instead of having to express volatility views indirectly through options, an approach that is capital-intensive and requires derivatives expertise.

The launch comes as the digital-asset market becomes increasingly institutionalized, drawing in a broader mix of participants – from hedge funds, volatility traders, options-income sellers and beyond.

“The launch of BVIV Index perpetual futures on Hyperliquid is a massive unlock for crypto traders and investors,” said Cole Kennelly, founder and CEO of Volmex Labs. “The market leading Bitcoin volatility index is now available to trade on the market leading onchain perpetual futures exchange, making it easy to hedge, speculate, and utilize pure Bitcoin volatility exposure.”

The BVIV perpetual is collateralized and denominated in USDC, with up to 5x leverage available at launch. Seda’s oracle infrastructure connects the Volmex index to the Markets exchange onchain.

Listing BVIV futures adds volatility indices to Hyperliquid’s already packed roster of perpetuals tied to crypto, equities, legacy indices, and commodities. The exchange carries a fully diluted valuation above $90 billion.

Hyperliquid is the world’s largest decentralized exchange for perpetual futures, registering billions of dollars in trading volume per day. It has become a go-to place for traders to express their views, especially on weekends when traditional markets are closed.

The listing was led by Markets by Kinetiq, the onchain perpetual futures platform built on Hyperliquid, in partnership with Volmex and Perps.inc. It’s the first market the three parties have co-deployed together, and the first time Volmex’s Bitcoin volatility index got an onchain perpetual futures market.

“With Bitcoin Volmex Implied Volatility Index, and the co-deployment structure that made it possible, we’re not just adding another ticker, we’re proving out the model for how Markets by Kinetiq scales,” said Justin Greenberg, co-founder and CTO of Kinetiq Markets. “Partners like Perps.inc and Volmex [are] bringing the products, and Markets [is] bringing the venue.”