Yes, someone is on the other side of the losing trade, but how many people (not firms) do you know who write contracts for short term options? I personally don

Yes, someone is on the other side of the losing trade, but how many people (not firms) do you know who write contracts for short term options? I personally don’t know any, and I worked at one of the biggest HFT firms for a few years. The losing side(s) of these positions are heavily hedged, and are happily making money on volume and volatility. (And making record profits this year)