Cboe Global Markets eyes VIX perpetual futures as crypto’s favorite product goes mainstream

Cboe Global Markets is exploring perpetual futures tied to the Cboe Volatility Index, better known as the VIX or Wall Street’s fear gauge. The contracts would have no expiration date, a feature that has made perpetuals the dominant instrument in crypto trading.

What Cboe is looking at

A perpetual future works like a regular futures contract with the end date removed. Standard VIX futures expire on a set schedule. Anyone who wants to keep long-term volatility exposure has to close an expiring contract and open a new one, a process called rolling. A perpetual skips that chore entirely.

Cboe has not published contract specifications, launch dates or regulatory filings for the proposed product. The initiative appears to be in an early, exploratory stage.

The pitch, based on Cboe’s direction, is access. A perpetual VIX contract could appeal to participants who can trade CFTC-regulated futures but generally stay away from securities-based products.

Two decades of turning fear into a product

Cboe launched VIX futures on the Cboe Futures Exchange, or CFE, in 2004. Those contracts are cash-settled against the special opening quotation of the VIX Index. Each standard contract carries a multiplier of $1,000 per index point.

For smaller traders, Cboe also offers a mini VIX contract with a $100 multiplier.

Cboe now lists monthly and weekly VIX futures expirations, plus options on VIX futures that physically settle into front-month futures with daily expiries. The product shelf also includes variance futures.

Where crypto comes in

Cboe has already been building bridges to digital assets. In March 2026, it introduced the BITVX index, which applies VIX methodology to measure expected 30-day Bitcoin volatility. BITVX draws on options tied to the iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT.

Volmex launched a perpetual market on its BVIV index, a VIX-style Bitcoin volatility gauge, on Hyperliquid in September 2026.

What this means

For traders, the clearest benefit is convenience. Holding a VIX position without rolling contracts removes a recurring cost and a recurring headache.

Firms limited to CFTC-regulated futures would gain another route into volatility hedging, which could deepen liquidity across the broader VIX complex.

What to watch next is paperwork. Contract specifications, a regulatory filing or a target launch date would signal that Cboe has moved past exploration and into execution.