$RIOT bulls keep mining coin

Bullish option traders made some more major coin in Riot Blockchain (RIOT) today.

Market Rebellion’s Unusual Option Activity Service flagged bullish option activity on separate sessions in calls that expire today.

–On Dec. 28, 3,800 Weekly $20 calls, expiring today, Jan. 8, were purchased for $1.05 to $1.50 above open interest of 1,788 contracts with shares at $15.84.
–On Jan. 6, 3,000 Weekly $21.50 calls, expiring today, Jan. 8, were purchased for $0.35 to $0.63 above open interest of 1,382 contracts with shares at $18.64.

Those calls each traded for as much as $7.32 and $5.68 today, or at least 4.5 and 9 times their purchase prices, respectively. The stock rose by as much as 72.54% in the same time frame, showing how quickly options can far outperform their underlying shares.

Long calls lock in the price where investors can buy a stock, letting them position for a rally at limited cost with the potential for significant leverage. They carry less risk than owning shares because the most that can be lost is the price of the options no matter how far the stock might fall.

RIOT closed higher this session at $26.59, up 17.03% on the day. The Blockchain technology company has risen along with the price of Bitcoin and other crypto assets.