Recently, I’ve been thinking about opening a options position as a buyer to enjoy the thrill, but honestly, time value is like “rent collection” in my account every day—if I don’t move it, it’s still losing value. The biggest fear for buyers isn’t wrong direction, but being right too late… That kind of holding back until near expiration before acting is really stressful. Sellers, on the other hand, find collecting time value very satisfying, but you’re using small money to exchange for big risks. If the market suddenly drops sharply, all the gains from before are wiped out and more.

By the way, I’ve been thinking about this recent trend of social mining and fan tokens—“attention as mining”—it also feels quite similar to the seller’s mindset: slowly collecting “time value” in attention, but once emotions turn sour or hype fades, the volatility can be even more intense than the coin price. Whoever takes the other side ends up in an awkward position.

The one extra step I’m willing to take now for safety is: before placing each order, double-check the expiration date and implied volatility, and conveniently transfer some idle funds out of my account. It’s a hassle, but at least I won’t impulsively go all-in and let time work against me. Keep the position light, really.