Call Option
The right to buy an asset at a set price — a leveraged, defined-risk way to bet on (or gain exposure to) upside.
A call option gives its buyer the right to buy an asset at a fixed strike price before expiry. Buyers profit when the asset rises well above the strike plus the premium paid; if it doesn’t, they lose only the premium. It’s a way to gain upside exposure with capped downside and built-in leverage.
Sellers of calls collect the premium and profit if the asset stays below the strike, but “covered call” sellers (who own the underlying) cap their upside in exchange for income. Calls are the building block of countless strategies; their price hinges on time to expiry and implied volatility — which is why a call can lose value even when price moves your way, if volatility drops.