Good morning, traders…
2025 has been an incredible year.
The market threw everything at us….
The Liberation Day crash, The DeepSeek sell-off, AI bubble fears, multiple geopolitical headaches, and more…
But through it all, my Smart Money strategy delivered.
I’m grateful for what the market has given me this year.
More importantly, I’m grateful for you.
The students who show up every day, study the setups, follow the flow, and enjoy these gains with me.
This email is my way of saying thank you by breaking down my five best trades of 2025.
They aren’t the absolute highest % gainers (although there are some bangers in there)…
They’re the trades I’m most proud of, each for a specific reason.
I don’t share these to brag. I share them to inspire you to crush your trades next year.
These Are My 5 Best Trades of 2025…
SPXS (Shares) Into Liberation Day
Entry: March 5 @ $6.59
Exit: April 8 @ $8.88
Total Gain: 35%
As surprising as it may be, one of my best trades of the year didn’t involve options at all.
In early March, market internals started flashing yellow. SKEW was elevated. The put-to-call ratio was climbing. The VIX was creeping higher despite the market grinding up.
These are the signals I watch obsessively because they’ve saved my portfolio more times than I can count.
The market looked fine on the surface. SPY was making new highs. Tech stocks were rallying. Most traders saw no reason to worry.
But the internals told a different story. Institutions were positioning defensively.
Something was coming…
So I bought SPXS shares as a hedge. Not calls. Shares. I wanted direct inverse exposure to the S&P 500 without theta decay eating my position if the crash took longer than expected.
Then April 2 hit.
Trump’s Liberation Day announcement sent the SPY into its worst single-day decline of the year.
Panic selling everywhere.
SPXS soared.
That 35% gain on the hedge protected my entire portfolio during the selloff.*
While other traders were watching their accounts bleed, I was actually making money on the crash.
This is why I always watch market internals.
Price can lie. Headlines can mislead…
But SKEW, put-to-call ratios, and the VIX tell you what’s happening under the hood. Like the instrument gauge on your car.
When those signals align, you listen. And you protect yourself before the crowd realizes something’s wrong.
War, Debt, Inflation, and the ETHA Trade That Crushed Them All
Contracts: December 19 $21 Calls
Entry: May 30 @ $3.50
Exit: July 21 @ $10.45
Total Gain: 199%
This was that rare unicorn setup with everything going for it.
In May, the U.S. national debt had just passed $37 trillion. That number affected everything: interest rates, inflation, trust in currency, and ultimately, the behavior of investors.
When governments print trillions to fund deficits, it weakens the value of money over time. Money printing becomes the only escape route.
I knew eventually, investors would run toward flights of safety. In the 21st century, the landscape has shifted. Bitcoin and Ethereum could store value in a scarce, limited supply.
Just as this setup caught my attention, the United States bombed Iran.
Markets responded when geopolitical pressure escalated. Uncertainty rose. Military budgets exploded. More money was printed. Debt climbed higher.
Investors looked for places to park capital where inflation couldn’t erode value.
Since President Trump won reelection in November 2024, Bitcoin had climbed 43%. Meanwhile, Ethereum had dropped 7%.
This made zero sense to me. The divergence was too dramatic. Two closely linked digital assets separated by nearly 50% wouldn’t last forever. A mean reversion thesis formed.
Suddenly, just as I was connecting these dots, ETHA started popping up on my OMEN Scanner over and over again.
Enormous Smart Money sweeps. Same expiration. Same strikes. Stacked volume.
Someone with size and conviction had been building a position ahead of a potential move.
Narrative, technical structure, sentiment imbalance, and Smart Money flow all lined up.
So I entered and held it for a long swing. I’m proud of how I stuck to my guns on this one. Great follow-through.
Trading TSLA To Buy A Tesla
Contracts: October 17 $350 Calls
Entry: August 20 @ $13.95
Exit: September 29 @ $100.00
Total Gain: 617%
For the first four months of 2025, Tesla was getting destroyed. The stock was 55% off its highs, with sentiment at an all-time low.
In May, it found a bottom at $215 and quickly surged 45% off that low into the $340s. I traded that move a few times, but didn’t really crush it.
So I kept watching the chart. It started compressing, forming an extended bull flag from May to August.
The daily chart was holding the 200-day EMA. That caught my attention.
When a stock holds a major moving average during consolidation, it’s usually setting up for the next leg higher.
That’s when I entered on August 20.
Two incredible moves on September 11 and 12 gave everyone else FOMO.
Suddenly, the chart looked unstoppable.
I held the calls for 30 days. The stock gained 34%, and I sold my calls for a 617% gain.*
And with those gains, I bought my wife a Model X.
I traded Tesla to buy a Tesla. Not too shabby.
Glorious Gains from GOOGL
Contracts: September 12 $210 Calls
Entry: August 20 @ $1.87
Exit: September 3 @ $17.35
Total Gain: 828%
Throughout the summer, GOOGL had been widely underperforming its tech counterparts.
The chart started to come back to life in July. I was watching closely.
On August 20, the daily chart pulled back to (and bounced off of) the 21-day EMA … to the cent.
That was my trigger to enter.
Then, on September 3, 2025, GOOGL gapped up more than 9% when a U.S. federal judge ruled that Alphabet would not be required to sell its Google Chrome browser as part of the Department of Justice’s antitrust case.
I exited the next day with an 828% gain, one of my highest absolute % gains of the year.*
FCX: When Technicals And Fundamentals Align
Contracts: December 12 $45 Calls
Entry: November 26 @ $0.30
Exit: December 3 @ $0.96
Total Gain: 220%
FCX is the leading copper stock, and copper sits at the center of every major growth trend happening right now.
Electrification. Renewable energy. EVs. Grid buildouts. AI data centers. Every single one of these requires massive amounts of copper.
Even more bullish: supply can’t keep up. Industry forecasts show a supply deficit in 2025, with demand projected to outstrip supply by hundreds of thousands of tonnes.
Economics 101. When demand exceeds supply, prices rise.
Considering the bullish fundamentals, I went to the chart for confirmation.
The daily chart had strong support at $38 with resistance at $42.
I thought it was consolidating before the next move higher.
I was right.
I caught a gorgeous 5-day move where the stock gained 8.5%, and my calls surged 220%.*
When technicals and fundamentals align, the results can be remarkable.
Looking Ahead to 2026
These five trades gave me more than gains.
They reinforced patience, discipline, and waiting for setups where everything aligns.
They reminded me why I watch market internals religiously, why I follow Smart Money flow obsessively, and why I never force trades outside of my rules.
2025 gave me trades I’ll remember forever….
The SPXS hedge that saved my portfolio.
The ETHA swing I held through for perfect follow-through.
And of course, the Tesla trade that bought my wife a car.
Here’s to many more in 2026.
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results
