CME Group announced the launch of the CME CF Volatility Benchmarks, the first indexes reflecting 30-day implied Bitcoin volatility, calculated using data from the regulated options market.
CME Group introduced new volatility indexes for Bitcoin. The newly launched benchmarks, the CME CF Bitcoin Volatility Index (BVX) and the CME CF Bitcoin Volatility Index – Settlement (BVXS), are the first in the world to be calculated not from spot prices but from implied volatility derived from Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin options traded on CME Group’s regulated exchanges.
CME Group is one of the world’s largest operators of derivatives exchanges, bringing together four major platforms under a single marketplace: the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), and COMEX (Commodity Exchange Inc.).
According to CME Group materials, BVX and BVXS measure 30-day forward-looking implied volatility — meaning market expectations of future price fluctuations rather than historical price behavior. This is the first tool of its kind in the crypto industry.
Specifically:
- BVX is published every second during CME Group trading hours.
- BVXS is calculated between 15:30 and 16:00 London time and published once per day.
The indexes use options order book data and apply variance swap pricing methodology to extract pure volatility.
The new benchmarks expand the existing suite of CME CF Reference Rates, which includes numerous spot reference rates and real-time price indexes tracking Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, and other crypto-assets.
The arrival of the CME CF Volatility Benchmarks enables institutional participants to:
- measure market risk more accurately using a transparent, standardized, and regulated indicator;
- build hedging and arbitrage strategies based on expected rather than realized volatility;
- use the indexes as a reference point when evaluating option pricing strategies.
The indexes were developed in partnership with CF Benchmarks, a registered benchmark administrator regulated under the EU Benchmarks Regulation, strengthening institutional trust.
Thus, CME Group is offering the crypto-asset market its first volatility assessment tool comparable to those long used in traditional derivatives markets, similar to how the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) reflects volatility expectations for the S&P 500.
In March 2025, CME Group representatives announced plans to test real-world asset (RWA) tokenization to increase capital market efficiency, using Google Cloud’s new universal DLT network.
