Market Lifecycle
Understanding the stages and lifecycle of prediction markets on AchMarket.
Market Stages
Every market goes through stages:
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ Active │ → │ Grace │ → │ Resolved │ │ Cancelled │
│ │ │ Period │ │ or │ │ / Expired│
└─────────┘ └─────────────┘ │ Expired │ └───────────┘
└──────────┘
Stage Details
1. Active
Duration: From creation until deadline
During this stage:
- Trading is open
- Users can buy/sell outcome shares
- Price updates dynamically
- Volume accumulates
2. Grace Period
Duration: 3 days after deadline
After the deadline passes:
- Trading stops
- Market creator has 3 days to resolve
- Purpose: Allow time for resolution
3. Resolved
Market decided with winner:
- Winning outcome set
- Proof provided by creator
- 0.25% fee deducted
- Winners can claim payouts
- Losers' shares become worthless
4. Cancelled
Market cancelled by creator:
- All participants get refunds
- No fee collected
- Full pool distributed
5. Expired
Not resolved in grace period:
- Auto-expires after 3 days
- Full refunds to participants
- Like cancelled
Resolution Process
Creator Actions
Market creator can:
- Resolve - Set winning outcome + proof
- Cancel - Cancel market (full refunds)
What Happens
Resolving
1. Creator selects winning outcome
2. Provides proof (link to proof)
3. 0.25% fee deducted from pool
4. Remaining pool locked for redemption
5. Winners claim pro-rata shares
Cancelling
1. Creator clicks Cancel
2. No proof required
3. No fee collected
4. Full pool available
5. Participants claim refunds
User Actions by Stage
During Active
| Action | Available |
|---|---|
| Buy shares | ✓ |
| Sell shares | ✓ |
| Claim | ✗ |
During Grace Period
| Action | Available |
|---|---|
| Buy shares | ✗ |
| Sell shares | ✗ |
| Claim | ✗ |
After Resolution
| Action | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| Claim Winnings | ✓ | ✗ |
| Claim Refund | ✗ | ✗ |
After Cancellation
| Action | Available |
|---|---|
| Claim Refund | ✓ |
Fee Structure
When Fees Apply
Only on resolution, not cancellation:
- Fee: 0.25% of pool
- Deducted before redemption
- Goes to platform
Fee Calculation
Pool: $10,000 USDC
Fee: 0.25% × $10,000 = $25
After Fees: $9,975 for redemptions
No Fee Cases
| Scenario | Fee |
|---|---|
| Market resolved | 0.25% ✓ |
| Market cancelled | $0 |
| Market expired | $0 |
This encourages resolution but no penalty for honest cancellations.
Market Categories
Markets can be created in:
| Category | Example |
|---|---|
| Crypto | "Will BTC hit $100k?" |
| Sports | "Who wins Super Bowl?" |
| Politics | "Who wins election?" |
| Entertainment | "Best Picture winner?" |
| Science | "First Mars landing?" |
| Other | Custom categories |
Market Information
Volume
Total USDC traded:
- Sum of all buys + sells
- Increases as market grows
- Indicates market interest
Participants
Unique traders:
- Counted once per market
- Shows market engagement
Deadline
Resolution deadline:
- Set by creator
- After this, grace Cannot be extended
period starts -## User Experience
Timeline View
Day 1: Market created (Active)
↓
... (trading continues)
↓
Day 15: Deadline reached (Active → Grace)
↓
Day 18: Resolved (Grace → Resolved)
↓
Day 18-∞: Winners claim (Resolved)
Notifications
Check Portfolio for:
- Markets needing attention
- Claims available
- Refunds due