Markets operator Cboe has announced that daily trading in the firm’s newly launched Mini Cboe Volatility Index (Mini VIX) futures surpassed the 100,000-contract mark for the first time, when daily volume reached 117,814 contracts on Thursday, August 27.

Mini VIX futures (ticker symbol: VXM) began trading on Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) on August 9. Total trading volume exceeded over 521,000 contracts in the first 14 trading days, with average daily volume (ADV) of 37,000 contracts, reflecting strong interest from a broad base of market participants across the global trading community. Market quality has been excellent according to the Cboe during both regular and global trading hours, evident within the front contract month and within the deferred contract months and calendar spreads.

Arianne Criqui, Head of Derivatives and Global Client Services at Cboe, said:

“We are excited to reach a significant milestone this week with Mini VIX futures. We are also encouraged by the traction the contract is building, not only in strong trading volume and excellent market quality and liquidity, but also in the growing adoption of Mini VIX futures by a diverse mix of market participants, including proprietary trading firms and brokerages, as well as market makers and commodity trading advisors. These are very early days, and we expect participation to continue to grow as more customers learn about the contract’s versatility in providing opportunities to manage risk, generate alpha and diversify their portfolios.”

Mini VIX futures share the same contract terms as standard VIX futures, but at one-tenth the size of the standard contract, Mini VIX futures require less capital expenditure to gain exposure to the VIX Index. They are designed to provide investors additional flexibility and precision in volatility risk management.

Mini VIX futures appeal to a broad set of market participants, including commodity trading advisors (CTAs), futures commission merchants (FCMs), proprietary trading firms, institutional investors and sophisticated retail market participants, and provide opportunities to hedge a portfolio, employ strategies in an effort to generate returns from relative pricing differences, or express a bullish, bearish or neutral outlook for broad market implied volatility.

In the coming months, Cboe said it expects to provide a Mini VIX futures user guide and to host webinars about Mini VIX futures.