Is ‘50 Cent’ VIX Trader Back for More?

The "50 cent" trader is likely back with a new crash bet on the market.

Late Tuesday, the trader purchased 100,000 calls, worth $5.3 million, betting that the Cboe Volatility Index will surge to 50 in May.

Another purchase of 50,000 contracts at the same strike price and expiry was placed Wednesday.

The trades brought back memories on Wall Street of when an enigmatic trader, or traders, would repeatedly acquire VIX calls at or near that price.

The apparent return of "50 Cent" follows a year when hedging against stock-price swings with the VIX faltered.

Now with the VIX hovering around 18, near a one-year low, expectations are building that the strategy of volatility hedging may start to work again.