$VIX drops 13% but tail risk stays high, hedgers loading crash insurance
Everyone’s watching the $VIX. Almost nobody’s watching the VVIX. $VIX drops 13% and the timeline relaxes. But options on the $VIX itself? Still at the 88th percentile. That’s institutional hedgers quietly keeping their crash insurance fully loaded. Surface calm. Expensive tail protection underneath. That’s not contradiction. That’s a tell. $IWM round-tripped its entire intraday rally …