wow...master stroke... *LINK*
i'm sure some have seen this beings as it came from Zero Hedge...still...way cool!
On June 12, the rates market was fascinated with what was then described as an "unprecedented" vol trade: as Bloomberg described at the time, an unknown trader bought $10 million of out-of-the-money puts and calls on 10Y Treasury futs (i.e., a strangle) when the 10Y was yielding 2.38%, which immediately grabbed the market's attention as it involved huge block trades of about 63,500 on either side: "a strangle of that magnitude is rare, and possibly unprecedented" according to several rates traders who spoke to Bloomberg.
The theta on the trade was so high that just to recoup the premium, the yield on the 10Y would have to rise or fall about 10 bps from 2.38%, and preferably very soon. Once the 10Y were to move beyond 10bps, gains were unlimited, and the trader "stands to gain about $50 million on a quarter-point move in either direction from the starting level, which would involve approaching this year’s highs and lows for 10-year yields."