When the Crowd Piles Into VIX Futures.
The VIX Futures Volume Radar measures how heavily the front-month VIX future (VX1) is trading relative to its trailing one-year average. It shows where today’s volume ranks historically and how often spot VIX has spiked following past days with similarly elevated futures volume.
Most traders focus on the VIX level alone. Positioning often shifts before the index moves, and a surge in front-month VIX futures volume is one of the clearest signals of that activity. Heavy volume typically builds during hedging, repositioning, and stress, the periods when the next move in volatility is usually being set up.
Heavy volume does not guarantee a spike, nor does light volume rule one out. Outcomes depend on how far volume exceeds its trailing one year average. That's why the radar ranks today’s volume as a percentile of that average.
How far today's front-month VX1 volume runs above or below its trailing-year average, ranked by percentile.
On past days when futures volume ran this heavy, how often spot VIX went on to spike.
The chance the VIX rose at least 5, 10, 15, or 20 points within 5, 10, or 20 trading days.
Ranks today's volume against its own trailing-year history, so the reading holds up in calm and stressed markets alike.
Turns red when history put the odds of a +20 VIX move within 20 days above 5%.
A full log of every past day when front-month VX1 volume ran at a level like today's.
See how heavily the front-month VIX future is trading right now versus its trailing-year average.
See how often spot VIX actually spiked after futures volume ran this heavy.
Read the chance the VIX reaches plus 5, 10, 15, or 20 points within the window you care about.
Open the log of past similar volume days. Check the sample size and whether the matches cluster in one regime before trusting the odds.
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