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OIC 2026: Can AI Trade Options For You? Jul 02, 2026

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Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the financial industry—but could it eventually become your options broker?

In this exclusive interview from the Options Industry Conference 2026, Mark Longo sits down with Jim Swartwout, CEO of Prosperum Fintech Holdings, to discuss how AI is being integrated into brokerage services, options trading, customer support, education, and portfolio management.

Jim brings decades of experience from some of the biggest names in the brokerage industry, including Schwab, Fidelity, E*TRADE, TradeMonster, Scottrade, Ally, and Robinhood. He shares how Prosperum is developing AI-powered tools that can assist traders with options strategies, account monitoring, education, and eventually even trade execution.

They also discuss:

The future of AI-powered brokerage services
Building "Alex," Prosperum's AI trading assistant
Can AI help traders manage complex options strategies?
The role of education in successful options trading
24-hour options trading and market access
0DTE options and evolving market structure
Prediction markets and their growing popularity
Crypto, tokenization, and the future of financial markets
What traders should expect from Prosperum in the months ahead

Wide World of Options: The Oxygen of Markets: Making Sense of Volatility Jul 02, 2026

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In this episode, host Mark Benzaquen sits down with Steve Sosnick, Chief Strategist at Interactive Brokers, to explore the evolution of volatility from a simple pricing input to a full-fledged asset class. Steve breaks down the VIX, pushes back on the "fear gauge" label, and shares how investors at every level are using volatility-linked products to hedge risk and capture opportunity — before the conversation takes a lighter turn on life, karaoke, and loving what you do.

Options Boot Camp 397: Super-Sized VIX Extravaganza Jul 01, 2026

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What exactly is the VIX? How is it calculated? Why doesn't it always move opposite the market? And what's really driving VIX futures, options and volatility ETPs?

This week on Options Boot Camp, Mark Longo welcomes back the legendary "Dr. VIX" himself, Russell Rhoads, for an extended deep dive into the world's most popular volatility index.

Whether you're new to volatility trading or looking to sharpen your understanding of advanced VIX concepts, this episode is packed with practical insights, common pitfalls, and actionable ideas.

In this episode, you'll learn:

What the VIX actually measures (and what it doesn't)
How the VIX is calculated using SPX options
Why VIX can sometimes rise alongside the stock market
The mechanics and risks of VIX settlement
Spot VIX vs. VIX futures—and why the difference matters
Contango, backwardation and the infamous "negative roll yield"
How VIX options are priced and what futures drive them
Common mistakes new VIX traders make
The pros and cons of VXX, UVXY, UVIX and SVIX
How Russell uses volatility products as hedges and trading tools
Listener questions on volatility products, risk reversals and today's market environment

OIC 2026: Does the Index Market Need a Shakeup? Jul 01, 2026

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Mark Longo sits down with Fateen Sharaby, Head of Index Derivatives at Bloomberg, during the 2026 Options Industry Conference to discuss the future of index derivatives, competition in benchmark products, and the evolution of the options marketplace.

In this interview, they explore:

Bloomberg's growing equity index business
The launch of Bloomberg 500 and Bloomberg 100 futures with MIAX
Why Bloomberg believes the index marketplace needs more competition
The rise of 0DTE index options
Institutional and retail adoption of index derivatives
Volatility-based and options-based investment strategies
The potential impact of major IPOs on benchmark construction
24-hour trading and the future of global market access
The growing interest in perpetual futures and derivatives
What traders should watch as Bloomberg expands its derivatives ecosystem

OIC 2026: What Keeps Options Traders Up At Night with Jim Toes from STA Jun 30, 2026

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What are the biggest opportunities, risks, and regulatory battles shaping the options industry today?

At the Options Industry Conference 2026, Mark Longo sits down with Jim Toes, President & CEO of the Security Traders Association (STA), for a wide-ranging discussion on the hottest topics in the derivatives world.

From the explosive growth of single-name 0DTE options and FLEX products to prediction markets, event contracts, pattern day trader reforms, and the push toward 24-hour trading, Jim shares his perspective on where the industry is headed next.

They also discuss the changing regulatory environment under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, the challenges of market structure reform, and why the future of options trading may look very different than it does today.

In This Episode:

The rollout of single-name 0DTE options
FLEX options and the rise of outcome ETFs
Why options volume continues to surge
Pattern Day Trader rule reform
Prediction markets vs. traditional derivatives
The push toward 24-hour options trading
SEC regulation and market structure
What concerns industry leaders most about the future

OIC 2026: Talking All-Day Options Trading, Events and 0DTEs with Fidelity Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Guest: Greg Stevens, VP of Options Strategy - Fidelity

Topics:

Should options trade 24/7?
How are Fidelity's customers using the new 0DTE equity options? Any surprises?
What is Fidelity doing in the prediction markets? Are they going to follow Robin Hood's lead and buy an exchange?
How does Fidelity approach options education?
What cool new bells and whistles is Fidelity rolling out for options traders?
and much more...

Volatility Views 685: Entertainment Capital Jun 26, 2026

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The vol market might be caught in a midsummer lull between truncated holiday weeks, but underneath the surface, there is plenty of drama to slice and dice. In this episode, host Mark Longo welcomes back "Dr. Vix" Russell Rhoads (Indiana University) and Bill Luby (Luby Assessment Management) to dissect a market that seems to be trapped in an anticipatory holding pattern.

The guys dive deep into:

The Volatility Review: A look at a celebratory but hair-trigger market as VIX cash flirts with the 19 handle.
The Geopolitical Risk Horizon: Why the market chose to look right past recent Middle East turmoil and what a sub-$70 crude environment means for tech and macro hedging.
The AI CapEx Arms Race: Tech earnings showdowns, Micron's blockbuster numbers, and why Microsoft's upcoming year-end earnings report could be the ultimate summer volatility catalyst. "Someone has to flinch" on tech spending—who will it be?
Deep-in-the-Money VIX Puts: Analyzing the massive rise in ultra-deep VIX put spreads. Is it a smart margin play, or just a fun deployment of "entertainment capital"?
Russell's Weekly Rundown: Breaking down the wild weekly options flows, short call spread ouchies, and drawing lines in the sand at the 17 and 19 strikes.
Crystal Ball: The crew looks ahead past the America 250 holiday to make their two-week volatility predictions.

TWIFO 503: Silver Slumps, Crude Crashes and Nasdaq Chaos Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

The commodity roller coaster kept traders busy this week as crude oil gave back much of its recent geopolitical premium, silver suffered another sharp selloff, and Nasdaq futures options lit up the tape following a volatile week for equities.

On this episode of This Week in Futures Options, Mark Longo breaks down the biggest movers across the futures options landscape, including:

Why silver volatility remains elevated despite a brutal correction
Massive activity in WTI crude oil 65 puts as traders reposition
Nasdaq 100 futures options reacting to earnings, inflation data and heavy market swings
The biggest movers on the light side and dark side across CME markets
Volatility, skew and unusual options activity across metals, energy and equity indexes
What traders were buying and selling ahead of the America 250 holiday week

The Hot Options Report: 06-25-2026 Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, host Mark Longo breaks down a wild, red-dominated trading session for Thursday, June 25, 2026, as a massive tech sell-off sweeps through the major indices.

First, we dive into today's featured scan from TheHotOptionsReport.com: the Symbol Pump scan, highlighting massive volume surges in KCAI, MIMI, and FERA. Then, we kick off our daily Top 10 options volume countdown, where we look at the exact strikes, contract volume, and option premiums lighting up the tape.

Inside this episode:

SpaceX (#10): Falling off its usual #3 spot and testing the critical $150 IPO print. Is the 150 put a coin flip?
Palantir (#8) & MicroStrategy (#7): Tech names get shellacked. Palantir hits multi-month lows, while Strategy slides nearly 30% over the past week.
The Tech Carnage (#6 & #5): Amazon and Microsoft erase post-Micron optimism with heavy selling.
Micron (#4): A wild post-earnings ride. After opening strong and dropping 100 handles, it claws back to finish up 165 handles at $1213.56. We look at the massive action on the 1300 calls.
Apple (#2) & Nvidia (#1): Apple drops over 6% after pricing anxieties hit The Street, while Nvidia slides below par ($200) to capture the top volume spot with 3.17 million contracts.

The Option Block 1480: America 250 and the Revenge of KLAR!!!! Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

host Mark Longo is joined by Henry Schwartz from Cboe and Mike Tosaw from St. Charles Wealth Management to break down the wildest trends shaking up the options market as we wrap up the first half of 2026.

The crew dives headfirst into the massive tech market crosscurrents following Micron's blockbuster earnings release. Is the tech wreck fading, or are single-name equity options setting up for a major fade? Plus, the team analyzes a surprising spike in the VIX driven entirely by SPX upside FOMO positioning.

In this episode's Trading Block and Odd Block segments, the panel uncovers questionable, high-volume flow in some very unusual names:

Bumble (BMBL): Checking back in on the land of ladies looking for love. Why are traders suddenly buying up the August $3 calls on this beaten-down name?
Klarna (KLAR): A massive institutional call-selling sweep hits this buy-now-pay-later fintech giant. Is it delta hedging or a short-term volatility play?
Chime Financial (CHYM): A deep look into a massive, wide-collar strategy using low-delta puts and calls ahead of August earnings.
The Silver Saga: Mike Tosaw addresses the live chat backlash after hesitating to pull the trigger on his famous $40 SLV put claim.

Around the Block: The team previews what to expect from market volume, oil prices, and crypto/MSTR volatility heading into the upcoming America 250 holiday week.

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