Hook
You think selling puts is a safe way to collect premium. You're wrong. On August 15, a trader named Duang Yongping publicly disclosed a two-part trade on SpaceX (SPCX) that looks like a masterclass in risk management. On July 24, he sold 1,000 put options at a $115 strike, expiring December 18, 2026, pocketing $2.326 million in premium. Twelve days later, on August 5, he bought 100,000 shares of SPCX at $108.68. Current price: $140. Paper profit: $5.458 million. The numbers scream genius. The mechanics whisper otherwise.
Sentiment is noise; liquidity is the signal.
Context
SpaceX went public in June 2024 via a direct listing. The stock surged above $200 within weeks, then collapsed to $105 in July as the first batch of restricted shares unlocked. The unlock was weaker than expected — the market braced for a flood of insider selling that never materialized. By early August, risk appetite returned, and SPCX rebounded to $140. This is the backdrop for Duang Yongping's trade.
I don’t predict the wave; I build the board.
Core
Let's break this down mechanically. The put sale on July 24: strike $115, premium $23.26 per share, expiration December 2026. That's a 2.5-year time horizon. The premium represents 20% of the strike price — a fat yield, but justified by the stock's volatility and the long duration. The buyer of the put is paying for downside protection. The seller (Duang) is collecting that premium in exchange for taking on the obligation to buy shares at $115 if the stock falls below that level.
Then on August 5, he buys 100,000 shares at $108.68. This is a separate directional bet, but it's also a hedge. If the stock drops below $115, his put sale will be assigned — he'll have to buy shares at $115. But he already owns shares bought at $108.68, so his average cost would be lower. The combination is a synthetic covered call with a twist: he's long the stock and short a put, creating a position that profits from time decay and upward movement, but loses if the stock tanks.
Based on my audit experience, I've seen this pattern fail in crypto options markets. The problem is tail risk. The put sale collects premium upfront, but the liability lives for 2.5 years. A single black swan — a regulatory crackdown, a CEO scandal, a market crash — could send SPCX below $50. The premium would be wiped out, and the margin call would be brutal.
Trust the ledger, not the legend.
Contrarian
The retail narrative is that Duang is a genius who turned $108.68 into a $5.4 million paper profit. The smart money knows the truth: he's running a leveraged time bomb. The premium is already booked, but the obligation isn't. The stock's bounce from $105 to $140 is a relief rally, not a trend reversal. The first unlock was weak, but the second unlock in September could be stronger. The volatility is real.
Sunk cost is the anchor that drowns traders alive.
Here's the counter-intuitive angle: the put sale itself is the most dangerous part. By selling deep out-of-the-money puts with a long expiration, Duang is effectively short volatility. He's betting that the stock will stay above $115 for the next 2.5 years. That's a low-probability bet in a market where the stock has already swung 100% in three months. The share purchase reduces his risk, but doesn't eliminate it. If the stock drops to $80, his covered position loses $2.868 million on the shares, plus the put assignment forces him to buy more at $115, adding another $2.3 million in losses. The premium only covers a fraction.
Takeaway
This trade is a high-probability trap for the unprepared. The headline profit is real — but only on paper. The real lesson is about liquidity and timing. The put sale worked because the stock rebounded. If it hadn't, the margin call would have been 10x the premium. Ask yourself: what happens when the next unlock hits? What happens when the Fed cuts rates and speculation shifts to smaller caps? The chart doesn't care about your feelings.
Stop gambling. Start trading.
