The VIX index is the average implied volatility of a theoretical set of options trading 30 days out by interpolating the implied vols of a bunch of options. How

The VIX index is the average implied volatility of a theoretical set of options trading 30 days out by interpolating the implied vols of a bunch of options. However, what is being discussed here is VIX FUTURES. The price of a VIX futures contract is whatever clears the market based on demand and supply not some calculation (the prices of the options used for the VIX calculation are also whatever clears the market, not something off some ideal volatility surface but that is besides the point). More options, less options or whatever don't make any difference. While VIX futures do cash settle to the special opening quotation of the VIX on expiration day, and while the correlation between the VIX index level and the futures is quite high, they don't necessarily move in lock step or even necessarily in the same direction. While models that tell you what the theoretical price of something is are great at potentially identifying situations where there are mispricings among assets to each other, any mental model where the price of an asset is based on some theoretical calculation is dangerous when trading. The prices of traded things are based purely on demand and supply.