On August 31, 2023, the second week moved the portfolio from $5.38 to $33.66. That is an increase of $28.28, or 525.7%. The percentage looks wild because the starting balance was $5.38. The dollar amount is the more useful number.
Most of the week came from short-dated Ethereum options premium. I was actively managing the positions behind that premium, not treating it as automatic income. It was compensation for taking risk, and I wanted to keep the decisions measured.
Market context
From August 24 to August 31, Bitcoin eased from roughly $26,200 to $25,900, while Ethereum moved from about $1,660 to $1,646. Both moves were small, so the weekly portfolio change came from the recorded options premium rather than a broad market tailwind.
In Ep 1, I started with a $5.38 result and a very small base. This week showed what a few decent premium decisions can do to that base. It also made the job of staying disciplined more important.
How to read this early result
In retrospect, this is an early example of why the journal separates premium collected, portfolio balance, and underlying-price movement. Premium received can compensate for taking options risk, but it is not automatically the same thing as durable profit or evidence that a strategy has been proven. The 525.7% figure is historical arithmetic from a $5.38 starting base, not a repeatable expected return.
The useful record is therefore the combination of the $28.28 change, the short-dated Ethereum options premium, and the modest BTC and ETH moves during the same period. The reporting distinction remains central to how this early journal entry should be read.
TerraM
The TerraM token remained around $0.86. Trading was thin, so I did not treat that quote as a measure of the portfolio or as a signal that the token had suddenly become liquid.
Next week, I want the same thing: sensible Ethereum options setups, no chasing a headline percentage, and another clear entry in the journal.