UVXY trading strategies, backtested
ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF — 1.5x short-term VIX futures — explosive in crashes, decays relentlessly. Every DeployQuant template run on UVXY over 5.5 years of minute data, same engine, same window, sorted by return.
| Strategy | CAGR | max DD | Sharpe | trades | win rate | final value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Cross (SMA 50/200) | −10.2% | −50.5% | -0.53 | 1 | 0% | $5,504 |
| SMA-200 Trend + 15% Trailing Stop | −23.3% | −77.0% | -0.70 | 24 | 21% | $2,303 |
| RSI(2) Dip Snapback | −27.0% | −87.7% | -0.33 | 145 | 48% | $1,748 |
| 200-Day SMA Regime Filter | −29.9% | −85.9% | -0.91 | 12 | 0% | $1,408 |
| 20-Day Momentum + Trailing Stop | −30.3% | −88.1% | -0.55 | 123 | 28% | $1,356 |
| RSI(14) Mean Reversion | −32.1% | −94.8% | -0.33 | 12 | 50% | $1,180 |
| SMA 10/50 Trend | −33.5% | −90.1% | -0.40 | 16 | 6% | $1,052 |
| Weekly Entry + 7% Target | −34.9% | −96.6% | -0.52 | 251 | 46% | $930 |
| EMA 12/26 Trend | −35.5% | −93.9% | -0.39 | 19 | 16% | $882 |
| Drawdown Dip Buyer + 8% Target | −38.0% | −93.0% | -0.65 | 0 | — | $709 |
| 3-Month Momentum Switch | −44.2% | −96.0% | -0.92 | 26 | 12% | $396 |
| First-to-Last Day of Month | −55.5% | −99.0% | -0.66 | 62 | 37% | $114 |
| Buy & hold UVXY | −38.0% | −93.0% | -0.65 | — | — | $709 |
Build it from blocks (or type it in English), backtest it on 5.5 years of minute data in seconds, tweak any parameter, then paper trade it on live data. No card, no broker needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
What was the best strategy for UVXY?
Of the 12 templates tested on UVXY over 2021-01-04–2026-07-17, the strongest by CAGR was golden cross at −10.2% (max drawdown 50.5%), versus −38.0% for buy-and-hold. Best-in-hindsight is not a forecast — check drawdowns and trade counts before drawing conclusions.
Did any strategy beat buying and holding UVXY?
9 of 12 templates beat UVXY buy-and-hold (−38.0% CAGR) on this window; 6 of 12 had a shallower maximum drawdown than holding (93.0%).
Other volatility products
Backtests are hypothetical, computed by DeployQuant's engine on minute-resolution consolidated US market data (2021-01-04 to 2026-07-17, $10,000 starting capital, no margin, fees and slippage not modeled) and do not guarantee future results. Nothing on this page is investment advice. Live trading involves risk of loss.