# What is money? What is inflation?

**URL:** <https://discussion.fool.com/t/what-is-money-what-is-inflation/120947>\
**Category:** Macro Economic Trends and Risks\
**Created:** [August 25, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/what-is-money-what-is-inflation/120947 "2025-08-25T17:26:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 15

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**Author:** ![mostlylong](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/motleyfoolfree/user_avatar/discussion.fool.com/mostlylong/32/3943_2.png) [@mostlylong](https://discussion.fool.com/u/mostlylong)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 4:57am UTC](https://discussion.fool.com/t/what-is-money-what-is-inflation/120947/15 "2025-08-30T04:57:49Z")

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> [@captainccs](#):
>
> Suppose I sell a covered call which expires worthless. I made $1,000 but someone lost $1,000 – a wash with no economic consequence.

Highly unlikely.

It’s not zero sum.

When you sell an option, you are selling volatility.

Volatility has value.

When your counterparty delta hedges (because they have created a portfolio that replicates the economics of the option that does not depend on the directional stock movement), the average effect of delta hedging a long option is to “buy low, sell high,” over and over again, as the stock price fluctuates and the delta hedge is adjusted accordingly.

This, of course, has the effect of generating positive delta hedging p&l, on average.

You and @markr (and everyone else who believes options markets have zero sum economics) can read articles like below to understand this phenomenon.

One of the amazing mathematical properties of the theory of asset pricing.

([Trading Vol · The Hedge Fund Journal](https://thehedgefundjournal.com/trading-vol/))

> [@Gamblers Anonymous: Stocks are crack cocaine](https://discussion.fool.com/t/gamblers-anonymous-stocks-are-crack-cocaine/111527/44):
>
> > [@Gamblers Anonymous: Stocks are crack cocaine](https://discussion.fool.com/t/gamblers-anonymous-stocks-are-crack-cocaine/111527/43):
> >
> > while options are zero sum (because the total value cannot go up making some losers and some gainers - always).
> 
> Very good explanation!

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