You remember VolX, right? They were the original sponsors of Volatility Views.
Well, they have teamed up with the BOX Options Exchange whereby BOX will list RealVol SPY Options (VOLS) for trading. On January 21BOX filed for approval to list VOLS with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and will begin listing the options once approval is received. VOLS will be the first exchange-traded options based on the realized volatility of the broad U.S. equity market.
VOLS offer direct exposure to the realized (actual or statistical) daily volatility exhibited by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (symbol SPY). Currently, the majority of market participants are not able to trade, or hedge against, actual price risk of realized volatility directly. This type of risk-control tool has been offered only to large institutions in the over-the-counter volatility swaps marketplace. Soon, VOLS will be available to all market participants in a standardized, transparent, and centrally cleared options contract on BOX.