Wall Street freaked out Friday, but VIX and bitcoin (BTC) trades say the fear may fade Monday.

Key Points:

• The VIX index surged 21.5% on Friday to 19.99 amid a 1.09% drop in the S&P 500, marking its largest one-day rise since June, driven by concerns over AI sector weakness and geopolitical tensions including incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• Traders are betting on continued elevated volatility, purchasing significant volumes of VIX call options for mid-November, reflecting expectations that the fear gauge could close above 23 by then.
• Historical data shows that large Friday spikes in the VIX often reverse on the following Monday, with the index falling 25 out of 32 times after such jumps since 1990, and November typically being a month of declining volatility.
• Bitcoin remained stable above $80,000 over the weekend, suggesting that risk aversion seen in traditional markets on Friday may not persist, with bitcoin's weekend trading acting as an early indicator of market sentiment.
• Despite historical trends favoring a volatility decrease after spikes, there is no guarantee of stability as the VIX has continued climbing sharply on some occasions, including recent years, highlighting ongoing market uncertainty.