I’ve been working on my TRON position for a while. The question wasn’t just “will TRON go up?” — it was:
Does a stock position locked inside a long-dated Covered Call still deserve the capital it’s tying up?
This time, I chose to unlock the options first.
1. The Setup
I held TRON shares and had sold 20 contracts of the TRON JAN 15 ‘27 $5 Call at an average premium of $0.43 (sold 2025-12-23), collecting a net $845.46 in premium.
The logic was straightforward: I wasn’t planning to sell the stock, so I sold calls to collect premium and reduce my cost basis. Nothing wrong with that. The problem: TRON has terrible liquidity — both the stock and the options. Over time, I realized the capital was effectively “locked.”
2. Why Buy Back Now?
TRON was trading around $1.60, miles below the $5 strike. The options market showed bid $0.15 / ask $0.35 — a massive spread.
The real risk in low-liquidity options is this: you stay in just to collect a few more cents of premium, while your capital sits trapped in an inefficient position.
I recalculated: if I bought back the calls now, I’d lock in the profit and free the shares. That was a better outcome than keeping them bundled together.
3. I Didn’t Chase
Instead of buying back at $0.35, I set a $0.20 limit order.
Result: all 20 contracts filled at $0.20.
Sold at $0.43, bought back at $0.20 → $0.23 × 20 contracts × 100 shares = $460; after round-trip fees, the broker-settled figure is +$455.28
If I had paid the ask at $0.35, it would have cost $300 more. For a trade with modest profits, $300 is not pocket change.
Options trading isn’t just about direction. The order book, liquidity, and execution price are part of the strategy.
4. Buying Back Calls ≠ Selling the Stock
Some might ask: if you don’t want TRON, why not just sell the shares too?
That’s not how I see it. The calls had become capital-inefficient, so I unlocked them. But I’m holding the stock for now.
2,000 shares are now free of the call obligation. If TRON climbs — $1.80 → $2.00 → $2.08 (my cost basis) — I can decide when to sell on my own terms. No longer handcuffed by 20 short calls.
5. $2.08: The Key Level to Watch
My TRON cost basis is roughly $2.08. If the stock gets back there, I regain a choice: release this capital and redeploy it into higher-liquidity cash-flow strategies.
2,000 shares × $2.08 = $4,160. At $2.20 it’s $4,400. At $2.50 it’s $5,000. That’s a completely different position than being locked inside Covered Calls.
6. The Remaining Contracts Can Wait
Beyond the 20 I just closed, I still have 17 contracts of JAN 21 ‘28 $5 Call (sold at $0.55) and 6 contracts of the $7.5 Call. These were sold at higher premiums, so I’m even less rushed. Same logic: buying back below $0.20 locks in a profit.
I give the market a price. If it fills, great. If not, I wait.
7. Rethinking Capital Efficiency
It’s easy to fall into the trap: “I’m holding the stock anyway, might as well sell calls and collect rent.”
But Covered Calls are not free cash flow. You’re selling the stock’s upside and adding complexity to position management.
- Good liquidity + decent volatility + core holding → Covered Calls are valuable
- Poor liquidity + wide spreads + high opportunity cost → probably not worth it, even if there’s still some premium left
8. Opportunity Cost
I used to ask: “How much more can this option make me?”
Now I ask: “If I free up this capital, what can it earn somewhere else in the next six months?”
A position that might still squeeze out $200 sounds fine — until you realize it’s locking up $3,000–$5,000 for half a year. The real question isn’t the $200. It’s what that $3,000–$5,000 could do in a higher-liquidity, higher-conviction trade.
That’s opportunity cost.
Summary
This wasn’t just a “TRON call profit-taking.” It was a position management exercise:
- Close inefficient calls at low cost: $0.43 → $0.20, +$455.28 profit
- Free 2,000 shares: stock is now unencumbered
- Don’t force the stock sale: wait for a bounce toward cost basis
- Release capital after recovery: key level at $2.08
Money isn’t meant to sit forever in one position. Capital should flow toward higher risk-reward, better liquidity, and higher conviction.