How Can a Long Call Option Be Used to Hedge the Risk of a Mining Pool Operator?

A mining pool operator, especially one running a PPS pool, is inherently short the cryptocurrency price (they pay out a fixed value regardless of price). A long call option allows them to hedge against a massive, sudden price increase.

If the price spikes, the call option's value increases, offsetting the increased cost of paying out miners in the higher-priced cryptocurrency, protecting their profit margin.