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  "id": "crypto-call-put-options",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/crypto-call-put-options/",
  "collection": "defi",
  "title": "Crypto calls and puts: a right, a premium and a payoff",
  "description": "Understand calls, puts, strike prices and expiry, with a clear distinction between buying an option and writing one.",
  "aliases": [
    "crypto call put option explained",
    "call and put option payoff examples"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "A call gives its buyer a contractual right tied to buying the underlying at a strike price; a put gives a right tied to selling. The buyer pays a premium, while the seller assumes the corresponding obligation. Crypto options can settle a cash-equivalent payoff instead of transferring the underlying, so exercise style and settlement specifications matter.",
    "claimId": "crypto-call-put-options-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-defi-oic-options",
      "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Call",
      "value": "A call’s expiry payoff benefits from prices above its strike.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-oic-options"
      ],
      "id": "call",
      "claimId": "crypto-call-put-options-fact-call"
    },
    {
      "label": "Put",
      "value": "A put’s expiry payoff benefits from prices below its strike.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-oic-options"
      ],
      "id": "put",
      "claimId": "crypto-call-put-options-fact-put"
    },
    {
      "label": "Expiry",
      "value": "European-style options exercise only at expiry.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "id": "expiry",
      "claimId": "crypto-call-put-options-fact-expiry"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "perpetual-futures"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "Separate payoff from profit",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-oic-options"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Imagine a one-unit, quote-currency-settled call with strike 100 and premium 8. At expiry with a settlement price of 120, gross payoff is 20 and profit before fees is 12. At 105, gross payoff is 5 but the buyer loses 3 after the premium.",
        "For a put with strike 100, a settlement price of 80 gives a gross payoff of 20. These simplified linear examples are not the settlement calculation for every crypto option."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "sides",
      "heading": "Buying and writing have different obligations",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-oic-options",
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "A buyer can lose the premium if the option expires worthless. A seller receiving that premium has taken an obligation whose loss can exceed the premium, with collateral and liquidation rules set by the venue. Selling an already-owned option to close is different from writing a new short option."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "contract",
      "heading": "Read the specification before the ticker",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Check underlying, multiplier, strike, expiry, exercise style and settlement currency. Deribit’s cited inverse options are European and settle economically in BTC or ETH; a familiar call/put name does not make the contract physically deliver spot tokens to a wallet."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Does in-the-money mean my purchase was profitable?",
      "answer": "No. The payoff must also cover the premium and applicable costs.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-oic-options"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "statement": "A call gives its buyer a contractual right tied to buying the underlying at a strike price; a put gives a right tied to selling. The buyer pays a premium, while the seller assumes the corresponding obligation. Crypto options can settle a cash-equivalent payoff instead of transferring the underlying, so exercise style and settlement specifications matter.",
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b64d9dc1fc29e2b8",
          "locator": "Calls; Puts; Premium"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e",
          "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
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      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex root, separate from the DeFi drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Checked OCC/OIC call/put rights and Deribit European/inverse conventions. Call payoff20 minuspremium8=12;payoff5 minus8=−3; short-writing distinguished from selling to close."
        ]
      }
    },
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      "articleSlug": "crypto-call-put-options",
      "statement": "Call: A call’s expiry payoff benefits from prices above its strike.",
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        "source-b64d9dc1fc29e2b8"
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b64d9dc1fc29e2b8",
          "locator": "Calls; Puts; Premium"
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        "notes": [
          "Checked OCC/OIC call/put rights and Deribit European/inverse conventions. Call payoff20 minuspremium8=12;payoff5 minus8=−3; short-writing distinguished from selling to close."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "crypto-call-put-options-fact-put",
      "articleSlug": "crypto-call-put-options",
      "statement": "Put: A put’s expiry payoff benefits from prices below its strike.",
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        "source-b64d9dc1fc29e2b8"
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b64d9dc1fc29e2b8",
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        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex root, separate from the DeFi drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Checked OCC/OIC call/put rights and Deribit European/inverse conventions. Call payoff20 minuspremium8=12;payoff5 minus8=−3; short-writing distinguished from selling to close."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "crypto-call-put-options-fact-expiry",
      "articleSlug": "crypto-call-put-options",
      "statement": "Expiry: European-style options exercise only at expiry.",
      "sourceIds": [
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e",
          "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples"
        }
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        "notes": [
          "Checked OCC/OIC call/put rights and Deribit European/inverse conventions. Call payoff20 minuspremium8=12;payoff5 minus8=−3; short-writing distinguished from selling to close."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-defi-oic-options",
      "label": "What is an Option?",
      "publisher": "Options Industry Council",
      "url": "https://www.optionseducation.org/optionsoverview/what-is-an-option",
      "locator": "Calls; Puts; Premium",
      "note": "General option concepts; equity delivery conventions are not imported into crypto contracts.",
      "version": "Documentation retrieved for the 2026-10-02 editorial scope; content hash recorded",
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    {
      "id": "x425-defi-deribit-inverse",
      "label": "Inverse Options",
      "publisher": "Deribit",
      "url": "https://support.deribit.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/31424939096093.json",
      "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples",
      "note": "Official support article retrieved through its public Help Center API; inverse settlement specifications.",
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  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "option-premium-intrinsic-time-value",
      "implied-volatility-options",
      "options-settlement-currency"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Crypto calls and puts: a right, a premium and a payoff.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/crypto-call-put-options/"
}