Educational Post: What Are Options Contracts? An options co | APEX WHALE LIBRARY

Educational Post:

What Are Options Contracts?

An options contract is an agreement that gives a trader the right to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price, either before or at a certain date. Although it may sound similar to futures contracts, traders that buy options contracts are not obligated to settle their positions.

Options contracts are derivatives that can be based on a wide range of underlying assets, including stocks, and cryptocurrencies. These contracts may also be derived from financial indexes. Typically, options contracts are used for hedging risks on existing positions and for speculative trading.

How do options contracts work?

There are two basic types of options, known as puts and calls. Call options give contract owners the right to buy the underlying asset, while put options confer the right to sell. As such, traders usually enter into calls when they expect the price of the underlying asset to increase, and puts when they expect the price to decrease. They may also use calls and puts hoping for prices to remain stable - or even a combination of the two types - to bet in favor or against market volatility.

An options contract consists of at least four components: size, expiration date, strike price, and premium. First, the size of the order refers to the number of contracts to be traded. Second, the expiration date is the date after which a trader can no longer exercise the option. Third, the strike price is the price at which the asset will be bought or sold (in case the contract buyer decides to exercise the option). Finally, the premium is the trading price of the options contract. It indicates the amount an investor must pay to obtain the power of choice. So buyers acquire contracts from writers (sellers) according to the value of the premium, which is constantly changing, as the expiration date gets closer.

As the name suggests, options give an investor the choice to buy or sell an asset in the future, regardless of the market price. These type of contracts are very versatile and can be used in various scenarios - not only for speculative trading but also for performing hedging strategies.