# Payouts and Settlement

## Payout Structure

Every winning contract on Speculation pays out **$1 per contract representing 100%**\
Users can hold multiple contracts within the same market, and total returns are calculated as:

> **Payout = Number of Winning Contracts × $1**

Losing contracts expire worthless and carry no residual value.

### Threshold Markets

In **Threshold Markets**, each target level represents an independent contract, for example, *“**Will Bitcoin close Up or Down by Oct 26 00:00 UTC?**”*

As soon as the underlying asset **reaches or surpasses the target price**, the corresponding contract is considered **resolved in favour of “Yes.”** At that point, holders of the winning “Yes” positions can **immediately claim their payout** from their **portfolio dashboard**.

Settlement for all price-based thresholds is determined using **Binance’s 3-minute closing candle** as the official price reference. This ensures consistent and verifiable resolution data across all markets.

<figure><img src="https://3751085037-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F39xxlKHR9QnY0lfJ8Kq7%2Fuploads%2FS6iTGYexrgG6ptVPiviF%2Fbtc.png?alt=media&#x26;token=b421dffc-d16f-41d8-90be-63ff8c510abd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Directional (Up/Down) Markets

In **Directional Markets**, outcomes are based on whether the asset’s price moves **up or down** within a defined timeframe.

These contracts **settle at expiry**, meaning results are finalised once the specified period ends, for example, after one hour,  one day, one month, or one year.\
At expiry, the final outcome is determined using the **Binance 3-minute closing candle** corresponding to the market’s expiration time.

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If the final price aligns with the predicted direction, the “Yes” side receives the **$1 payout per contract**, while the “No” side expires worthless.

<figure><img src="https://3751085037-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F39xxlKHR9QnY0lfJ8Kq7%2Fuploads%2F8vi1rzXc2FJpPoVMB4A5%2Fsola.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f53ab0d9-64f7-4d2e-8e02-9bd0576c54dc" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Claiming Payouts

All winnings are credited directly to the user’s **Speculation portfolio**, where they can view settled contracts, claim payouts, or trade their earnings in new markets.