Volatility

HV Regime

By Ryan Silk & Lawrence Polatchek · Reviewed April 2026 · Options Trading Glossary

Current state of realized volatility: expanding, contracting, or normal

What is HV Regime?

HV Regime A volatility regime describes the current state of realized volatility: expanding (short-term HV rising above long-term), contracting (short-term HV falling below long-term), or normal. Determined by comparing short-window HV (e.g. 10-day) to long-window HV (e.g. 60-day). When the ratio exceeds 1.3x, vol is expanding; below 0.7x, it's contracting.

Complete Definition

A volatility regime describes the current state of realized volatility: expanding (short-term HV rising above long-term), contracting (short-term HV falling below long-term), or normal. Determined by comparing short-window HV (e.g. 10-day) to long-window HV (e.g. 60-day). When the ratio exceeds 1.3x, vol is expanding; below 0.7x, it's contracting.

Example

TSLA's 10-day HV is 45% and 60-day HV is 30%, giving a ratio of 1.5x — an expanding regime. This suggests recent moves have been unusually large and may signal increased risk or opportunity.

AV
Written by
ApexVol Research Team
Quantitative options research
All calculations use live ORATS institutional data — the same source used by professional volatility desks.
RS
Technical reviewer
Ryan Silk, ApexVol Founder
Reviewed for technical accuracy
10+ years trading options. Built ApexVol's pricing engine, Greeks model, and IV-rank methodology.
This guide is updated as market conditions and ORATS data change. Last revised 2026-05-12. How we research →

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