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Historical Volatility

A backward-looking measure of how much a price actually fluctuated over a past period — distinct from Implied Volatility, which looks forward.

Historical Volatility measures how much a price has actually fluctuated over a past period, calculated directly from historical price data. It’s distinct from Implied Volatility, which reflects the market’s current, forward-looking expectation of future fluctuation, derived from option premiums.

See the full comparison in What Is Implied Volatility (IV)? Explained for Beginners.