Trading Journal · by Reinis Fischer · · · 33 seen

What We Learned From a 22% Portfolio Gain During a Crypto Market Recovery

On September 28, 2023, the Terramatris crypto portfolio reached a total value of $64.21, marking a weekly increase of $11.72, or approximately 22.35%.

At first glance, that looks like a major performance jump. In context, however, the portfolio was still very small, which means relatively modest dollar gains could translate into large percentage moves.

This update remains useful because it highlights an important lesson for crypto and options investors: early portfolio growth can look dramatic, but long-term success depends on repeatability, diversification, and risk management.

For a broader overview of the strategies we later developed, start with How to Generate Income With Ethereum Options.

Market Context

During this period, the broader cryptocurrency market showed renewed strength. Bitcoin traded near $27,000, while Ethereum and several altcoins also benefited from improving market sentiment.

Although Bitcoin remained the most important benchmark for the crypto market, smaller portfolios can sometimes outperform Bitcoin during short recovery periods if they hold assets or strategies with higher sensitivity to market momentum.

That appears to have been the case during this early Terramatris update.

Why Small Portfolios Can Move Quickly

Small portfolios often experience larger percentage swings than mature portfolios.

A gain of $11.72 may not be meaningful in a large account, but when the starting portfolio value is small, the same dollar gain can produce a large percentage increase.

This is why early performance should always be interpreted carefully.

The more important questions are:

  • Was the gain repeatable?
  • Was risk controlled?
  • Did the strategy depend on excessive leverage?
  • Could the approach survive a market reversal?
  • Could the process scale as the portfolio grew?

Diversification and Crypto Portfolio Growth

This week also showed how diversification can influence short-term results.

A portfolio that holds only Bitcoin will generally follow Bitcoin closely. A portfolio with Ethereum, altcoins, and options strategies may behave differently.

That can be beneficial during recoveries, but it can also increase downside risk during selloffs.

For this reason, diversification should not be viewed only as a return tool. It should also be understood as a risk-management decision.

How Options Strategies Fit Into Portfolio Growth

As Terramatris evolved, the focus gradually moved toward Ethereum options income strategies, including covered calls, cash-secured puts, and credit spreads.

These strategies can help generate option premium rather than relying only on asset price appreciation.

Learn more about the main strategy types:

Lessons From This Early Portfolio Update

Looking back, the weekly gain itself was less important than the lessons it provided.

The main takeaways were:

  • Large percentage gains in small accounts should be interpreted cautiously.
  • Dollar gains matter as much as percentage gains.
  • Diversification can amplify both upside and downside.
  • Market recoveries can temporarily make many strategies look stronger than they really are.
  • Risk management becomes more important as the portfolio grows.

Final Thoughts

The 22.35% weekly gain in September 2023 was an encouraging early milestone for Terramatris.

However, the more durable lesson was not that small portfolios can rise quickly. The real lesson was that early growth must eventually evolve into a disciplined process.

Over time, that process became increasingly focused on Ethereum options, premium generation, and portfolio risk management.

Continue Learning