Born: This morning, amid high hopes and leveraged bets on SPX, SPY, or NDX intraday swings.
Passed: 4:00 PM ET (or 4:15 PM for SPY), when the market closed, leaving them intrinsically valueless and unceremoniously expired.
These bold speculators chased gamma squeezes and volatility pops, only to succumb to relentless theta decay and pinning at key strikes. Survived by market makers who hedged flawlessly, tighter bid-ask spreads, and the next batch of 0DTE hopefuls. They leave behind evaporated premiums (often pennies turned to dust), shattered YOLO dreams, and a legacy of fueling over 50% of S&P 500 options volume.
Signed with Respect,
Optiver: "Thanks for the premium flow."
Jane Street: "Perfectly hedged as always."
Flow Traders: "Your exits were our entries."
Other Retail Traders: "Sympathies from those who needed your exit liquidity to close our positions."
Market Makers Collective: "See you Monday for more."