---
title: "Vol matrix"
description: "The vol matrix is a compact table, one row per expiry with the front row highlighted, five numbers per row: ATM IV, two risk reversals, a butterfly, and open interest."
---

# Vol matrix

The vol matrix is a compact table, one row per expiry with the front row highlighted, five numbers per row: ATM IV, two risk reversals, a butterfly, and open interest. It is the quant's cheat sheet: **the whole vol structure in plain numbers, no interpolation squinting.**

![Vol matrix table on BTC](/learn/options/options-vol-matrix--hero.png)

## Add it to your chart

1. Open **Indicators** in the top bar.
2. Search for **Options Vol Matrix** and click it once. The table renders in its own pane.

## Fullscreen

Use the legend's maximize button, or double-click the pane, to fill the chart with it; Esc restores the previous layout. Maximized, the table gets larger text, easier to scan across all five columns.

## How to read it

- **ATM**: at-the-money IV in vol points, the headline "how much movement is priced" per expiry.
- **RR25**: the 25-delta risk reversal, put IV minus call IV. Positive means the downside is bid over the upside (puts pricier); negative means calls are chased.
- **RR15**: the same at 15 delta, the further and more tail-sensitive wing. When RR15 disagrees with RR25, the extreme tails are telling their own story.
- **FLY25**: the 25-delta butterfly, the average of the two 25-delta wing IVs minus ATM: how expensive tails are versus the middle.
- **OI**: that expiry's total open interest in coin units, your gauge of how much weight the row deserves.

## The math

Every value is read from that expiry's OTM-stitched smile ([conventions](/learn/options/concepts)):

$$\mathrm{RR}_{\Delta} = \mathrm{IV}_{\Delta\,\mathrm{put}} - \mathrm{IV}_{\Delta\,\mathrm{call}}$$

$$\mathrm{FLY}_{25} = \tfrac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{IV}_{25\Delta\,\mathrm{call}} + \mathrm{IV}_{25\Delta\,\mathrm{put}}\right) - \mathrm{IV}_{\mathrm{ATM}}$$

Some platforms quote RR with the opposite sign; check the convention before comparing across venues.

## Settings

| Setting | What it does                                                              | Default |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| Theme   | Color theme for the pane: series colors, fills, and accents (six choices) | Aurora  |
| Refresh | Poll cadence in seconds (30 to 600)                                       | 60      |

## Assumptions

- Reads the same live chain snapshot as the rest of the suite, refreshed on the pane's own poll (default 60 seconds).
- Rows are capped to the nearest 8 live expiries by days to expiry.
- A cell with no resolvable quote (for example a wing with no listed instrument at that delta) is left blank rather than shown as zero.

## Trade around it, honestly

- **Scan the RR25 column top to bottom** for the skew term structure at a glance: positive readings say puts are bid (fear priced in) at that horizon, negative say calls are bid (upside chased); watch how the sign migrates from front rows to back rows.
- **FLY rising means tails are bid**: the market is paying for surprise in either direction, not picking a side.
- **Let the OI column filter the table.** It tells you which rows deserve attention at all.
- **Skeptical caveat**: rows with tiny open interest produce noisy wing stats. Read RR and FLY on the liquid rows.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Related**

The [Term structure](/learn/options/term-structure) charts the ATM column as a curve, the [IV smile](/learn/options/iv-smile) draws the full curves these numbers summarize, and the [Dashboard](/learn/options/dashboard) puts flow next to positioning for the same board.
{% endhint %}