Writing Calls is a great way for token holders to put Options to use to generate some additional income on their token holdings through Speculation. It also a way for projects to distribute tokens to future investors, given that their token meets certain price benchmarks. Selling a Call is the opposite of selling a Put. It is a bearish strategy.
Making money by expecting the top
Suppose that you are the holder of 1 ETH, and the current price of ETH is $1000, and you would be willing to sell your ETH at $1500. You don’t know if the price will climb that high or not, but since you aren’t willing to sell it now — you can use it to generate some income while still holding ETH. You write a call for 30 days wi a premium of 0.2 ETH with a strike of $1500. You’ve just generated 0.2 ETH! And if ETH goes above $1500 and the long exercises the call, then you have just sold your ETH! You did miss out on the upside above $1500, but if you were willing to sell it at that level, you’ve just generated $1500 for your ETH.
This is where projects get a huge benefit and opportunity.
Initial Options Offering (IOO)
Suppose you create a new token and project, XYZ token, and although your project is in the early stage of development, you have big plans. Investors may be cautious about buying your tokens outright at the price you are willing to sell at — so you can write several sets of calls at various prices in the future. Your potential investors will pay you for the right — and you collect some premiums in the short term. If things work out and your project and token price takes off — great, the call buyers will exercise their calls and purchase your tokens at the price you are willing to sell them at. This is an extremely beneficial way for token distribution to new projects so that there are fewer risks for both sides.
Example selling a call
Vitalik sells one Ethereum call option (ETH) on Feb 05 with a $1000 strike price for a $45 premium price. As the call option expires on Feb 12, ETH has never gone above the $1000 strike price. Vitalik keeps the premium price and made a $45 profit.
If the price had risen above $1000, the other party could have exercised the call, and Vitalik would have had to sell the Ethereum for $1000.
