Blog Archive: January 2026
Week 43: Boring but Profitable — BMY Credit Spread Brings in $65 Options Premium
| | 46 seen
As of January 30, 2026, our covered-call stock portfolio has once again increased by +2.43% and closed at $11,050. For the first time, we’ve cracked the $11K milestone. Awesome.
Interestingly, we kept activity minimal this week the only new trades were BMY credit spreads opened today. Despite that, the NVDA-centered portfolio is clearly outperforming the crypto portfolio, which suffered another sharp -30% drop this week. Definitely worth noting.
This week, I also published an article explaining our NVDA strategy - you can read it here: How the NVDA Strategy Became the Backbone of Our Stock Portfolio.
Our covered call portfolio is up 3.71% YTD, slightly outperforming the S&P 500 (+1.1%). Since NVDA is our core underlying - used for selling credit spreads and covered calls, while gradually accumulating shares through option premiums it is also appropriate to compare performance against NVDA itself. Notably, NVDA is up +1.97% YTD.
Options trades:As mentioned earlier, I opened a new bull put credit spread on BMY. With the premium received, I also bought an additional BMY share, increasing our total position…
How the NVDA Strategy Became the Backbone of Our Stock Portfolio
| Stock Portfolio | 34 seen
The NVDA strategy didn’t start as a master plan. It emerged out of necessity.
About a year ago (2025), after the DeepSeek-related volatility shock that briefly crushed NVDA and other AI names, our stock portfolio was under pressure. I was using margin across multiple positions, volatility expanded fast, and I faced a margin call. That was the moment I decided to abandon complexity and build the entire portfolio around a single, highly liquid asset. I chose NVIDIA.
I bought 100 shares of NVDA on margin around the $110 level. Immediately after the trade, our account showed roughly –$6,700 in margin debt. From the start, this was not a “long and forget” position -it was a position that had to work, structurally.
Very shortly after, NVDA did what it often does: it exploded higher. The stock ran from ~110 into the 160–170 range, then 180, and at one point traded above 220. However, because I began selling calls early - primarily to reduce margin stress - I had already capped most of the upside. That wasn’t an accident. It was the trade-off I consciously accepted in exchange for…
Bots, Rewards, and TerraM: Unexpected Signals from DeFi Liquidity
| Crypto | 25 seen
I minted 10,000 TerraM tokens back in 2022 with a very simple idea: raise $10,000 and trade Ethereum options. The plan was straightforward - tokenized participation, transparent backing, real trading activity. In practice, the initial capital raise never really materialised. There was no big launch, no rush of external capital, no instant liquidity.
What did happen over time, however, turned out to be more important.
Instead of relying on outside funding, I gradually raised capital organically and, more importantly, started generating income from our own options trading. That income gave TerraM something many small tokens never get: real economic activity behind it. Every TerraM token is backed by USDC value derived from actual trading results. Not a promise, not a narrative, but cash flow.
There are nuances here, of course. TerraM trades on Raydium, and liquidity has almost always been shallow. For most of its life, the liquidity pool rarely exceeded about 5% of total token value. This wasn’t accidental. The majority of funds were consistently deployed into actual trading rather than sitting idle in a pool. From a trading perspective, that made sense. From a…
Hiking to Turtle Lake: A Winter Trail in Tbilisi
| Living in Georgia | 85 seen
Last Sunday we did a hiking trip to Turtle Lake, starting from the stairs on Polikarpe Kakabadze street. I’ve been a big fan of hiking in Tbilisi for a long time. More than ten years ago, we used to do hiking trips almost every weekend, something I’ve written about on the blog many times. Back then it was routine.
- Last chance workout on the trails around Turtle Lake before Tbilisi Marathon
- Hiking trails near Turtle lake, Tbilisi in Winter
- Remote and Abandoned Hipster Party Place with Great views of Tbilisi (Hiking near Turtle Lake)
- and more
Recently we moved to a new apartment on Pavle Ingorovka Street, and from our window we can clearly see hiking trails cutting through the hills. That alone was enough motivation. One evening I pinged Jeff, a Belgian acquaintance, asking if he was up for a hike. He immediately suggested starting from the location, not far from our place, he even sent me location name in Georgian, so I can find the spot - ლამაზი ხედი თბილისზე ხის კიბეები. Decision made.
The next morning at 9:30 we met at the spot and started the trip. With a seven-year-old along, the whole route took us a bit…
How to Borrow Against Solana on Bybit to Boost Covered Call Income
| Crypto | 41 seen
On September 4, 2025, we launched the Solana Covered Call Growth Fund at Terramatris. The fund’s objective is to grow our SOL holdings primarily through selling covered calls, with most initial positions entered via cash-secured puts.
Although the fund is still small, over time we accumulated 6 SOL from option premiums. This led me to explore a leverage extension: using earned SOL as collateral to borrow stablecoins, acquire additional SOL, and sell more covered calls to increase income.
After accumulating 6 SOL over the past 5 months, I used them as collateral on Bybit and borrowed 390 USDT. At the time, SOL was trading around $130, so the borrowed amount was sufficient to purchase 3 SOL.
- Borrowed: 390 USDT
- Interest rate: ~4.5% annual
- Annual interest cost: ~$17.55
- Interest for ~35 days: ~$1.67
I bought 3 SOL at $128 and immediately sold 3 covered call options with:
- Expiry: February 27, 2026
- Strike: $130
- …
Week 42 / $107 Options Income From Rolling NVDA Credit Spreads During the Greenland Shock
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As of January 23, 2026, our covered-call stock portfolio has dipped slightly by -0.43% and closed at $10,788.
The previous week was highly turbulent. As the market opened on Tuesday, NVDA briefly dipped below my call strike levels. Given the elevated volatility, I decided not to wait and took an early roll, pushing the position several weeks (February 6) out to reduce near-term risk.
Volatility remained elevated throughout the week and only began to ease after President Trump’s speech in Davos, which I followed closely on CNBC. Once he stated that no force was planned to be used regarding Greenland, both equity and crypto markets reacted positively and turned green again.
That relief, however, was short-lived. While stocks stabilized, overall market conditions remained unstable, and our crypto-funds ultimately took a hit by the end of the week (-23% week over week for TerraM Multi Asset Fund)
The positive development for our NVDA strategy is that the stock has turned decisively green again and, at the time of writing, is trading around 187.
Our covered call portfolio is up 2.81%…
Week 41 / NVDA Credit Spread Strategy: 0.43% Weekly Return if Expires Worthless
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Greetings from Tbilisi. After more than three weeks in India, we are finally back—welcomed by temperatures below 0°C and already missing Goa and its +31°C.
Last week, we also held our annual office party (Caucasus Translations) at Babilo Music Hall, enjoying excellent Georgian cuisine, wine, and traditional Georgian dance. I skipped the food due to intermittent fasting (no eating after 14:00), but it was a great evening nonetheless.
As of January 16, 2026, our covered-call stock portfolio has increased again by additional +1.71% and closed at $10,835.
It has been an excellent start to 2026, and we are positioning for further growth while remaining cautious. A market correction around earnings season cannot be ruled out. With NVDA scheduled to report earnings at the end of February, we are comfortable selling credit spreads, as they provide downside protection.
Our covered call portfolio is up 4.31% YTD, outperforming the S&P 500 (+1.28%). Since NVDA is our core underlying - used for selling credit spreads and covered calls, while gradually accumulating shares through option premiums it is also appropriate to compare performance…
TerraM 52‑Week Saving Challenge: Commitment, Liquidity, and Skin in the Game
| Investments | 36 seen
I have attempted the classic 52‑week saving challenge several times over the years. I tried it with cash, mutual funds, and even speculative assets like meme coins. Results were mixed. Sometimes the discipline worked, sometimes it failed - usually not because of returns, but because of inconsistency and lack of long‑term conviction.
This time, the setup is different.
I am launching the TerraM 52‑Week Saving Challenge, centered entirely on the TerraM token, the native token of the Terramatris crypto hedge fund.
The structure is intentionally simple:
- Week 1: invest $1 in TerraM
- Week 2: invest $2 in TerraM
- Each week, increase the investment by $1
- Week 52: invest $52 in TerraM
By the end of the year:
- Total invested capital: $1,378
- Number of buys: 52 separate on‑chain purchases
No timing, no optimization, no skipping weeks.
This challenge is biased by design. I am the CEO and founder of Terramatris, and TerraM…
Week 40 / NVDA Strategy, $65 Premium Income, and Margin Reduction
| | 50 seen
Greetings from Mumbai, India. For the past three years, we’ve spent our winter holidays in India, usually traveling to Goa via New Delhi. This time, however, we arrived and departed through Mumbai and had a few days to explore the city. I’m genuinely impressed. Mumbai is definitely a city where I could imagine living long-term. Beyond that, it stands out as one of Asia’s major financial centers.
One thing that really stands out when traveling around India is the prevalence of billboards advertising investments in mutual funds. Likewise, when visiting libraries, it’s not uncommon to find educational books on options trading. This suggests that India’s retail financial markets are not only growing, but already fairly mature.
That said:
As of January 9, 2026, our covered-call stock portfolio has increased slightly by +0.44% and closed at $10,653. For the sake of transparency, it’s worth noting that the slight decline is due to USD/EUR exchange rate movements. The U.S. dollar kept appreciating against the euro, which reduced the total value when expressed in USD.
Our covered call portfolio is up 2.37%, modestly outperforming the S&P 500…
Exploring Crypto Spread Trades With India: Lessons From the Kimchi Premium
| Investments | 83 seen
The idea of regional crypto arbitrage isn’t new. The most famous example remains the Kimchi Premium — a persistent price gap where Bitcoin and stablecoins traded at a premium on Korean exchanges due to capital controls, retail demand, and limited outbound liquidity.
India occasionally shows similar characteristics. During a recent vacation in Palolem Beach, Goa, I found myself regularly exchanging USD to INR at beach shack money changers. That on-the-ground exposure, combined with crypto P2P observations, sparked an idea worth examining — even if it ultimately proves impractical at scale.
The Observed SpreadWhat caught my attention was a USDT price discrepancy (as of January 2026)
Bybit P2P: USDT selling around ₹94…
Week 39 / Road to $25K: Rolled Up and Forward NVDA Covered Call, Adjusted Credit Spread
| | 104 seen
Greetings from South Goa, Palolem Beach, India. I hope you had a great New Year’s party - we certainly did.
As of January 2, 2026, our covered-call stock portfolio has decreased slightly by -0.84% and closed at $10,607. For the sake of transparency, it’s worth noting that the slight decline is due to USD/EUR exchange rate movements. The U.S. dollar appreciated modestly against the euro, which reduced the total value when expressed in EUR and back.
This marks the first options week of 2026; however, all position adjustments were made back in 2025.
One of our short- to medium-term goals is to grow the portfolio to $25k using options trading alone. With a systematic approach — and some persistence (plus a bit of luck) — reaching that level in 2–3 years is realistic. See: Road to a $25,000 Stock Portfolio with Options Trading.
Options trades:This week, we adjusted our NVDA covered call, rolling the April $115 strike out to June while slightly increasing the strike to $116. We’ve been in this position since March 2025.
At the start of the week, I also adjusted our NVDA bull put credit spread, rolling it down and forward to next week’s…