Finalization and Refunds

Finalization is the point where a market’s result is locked and distribution can proceed according to the final outcome.

Until that moment, a market may still be in a proposed, challenged, or escalated state.

What finalization means

Finalization means the active resolution path is complete.

At that point:

• the market’s outcome is no longer pending
• claims or refunds can proceed according to the final result
• users can stop treating the market as unresolved

Claims after finalization

If the market reaches a valid winning outcome, eligible users can claim according to that finalized result.

For users, this is the point where “the market is over” becomes economically meaningful.

Refund paths

Not every market ends with a normal winner flow. Some markets are voided, meaning the result cannot be responsibly assigned and positions are returned to participants instead.

When a market is voided, users receive back the net amount they put into the pool. Entry fees that were already distributed at the time of participation are not returned — those were allocated at the point of each transaction.

When a market may be voided

Markets can reach a void outcome through several paths:

Creator timeout. If the market creator does not submit a settlement result within the required window after the market closes, the protocol automatically voids the market. This is the most common void path.

Unresolvable arbitration. If a disputed market enters arbitration and the arbitration process cannot produce a valid outcome, the market is voided as a final safeguard.

Invalid or ambiguous outcomes. In some cases, the real-world event makes it impossible to assign a clean result under the market’s rules, and the resolution process ends in a void rather than force an uncertain outcome.

The user checklist

After a market completes, users should understand which of these states applies:

• finalized with a valid winning outcome
• finalized through a refund path

That difference determines whether they should expect a winner payout or a refund.