Market Lifecycle

Market Lifecycle Overview

A prediction market goes through several distinct phases from creation to settlement. Here’s the complete lifecycle when using delphAI as the resolution oracle.

Phase 1: Market Creation

Who: Prediction market platform Duration: One transaction The platform creates a market on delphAI by paying the creation fee:

// Platform calls delphAI to create market
function createMarket(
    string memory question,
    string memory description,
    string[] memory outcomes,
    uint256 resolutionTime
) external payable returns (uint256 marketId) {
    // Get creation fee from delphAI
    uint256 creationFee = delphAI.marketCreationFee();
    require(msg.value >= creationFee, "Insufficient fee");

    // Create market on delphAI (returns market ID)
    marketId = delphAI.createMarket{value: creationFee}(
        question,
        description,
        outcomes,
        resolutionTime
    );

    // Store market ID and your platform's betting data
    markets[marketId].delphAIMarketId = marketId;
    markets[marketId].closeTime = resolutionTime - 1 hours; // Trading closes before resolution

    return marketId;
}

Key Parameters:

Question: The event to predict
Description: Additional context and resolution criteria
Outcomes: Array of possible results (e.g., [“Yes”, “No”])
Resolution Time: When delphAI AI will resolve

What delphAI Does:

Creates and stores the market
Schedules AI agent for resolution time
Emits MarketCreated event
Returns unique market ID

Market is now created on delphAI and scheduled for automatic AI resolution

Phase 2: Active Trading

Who: Users on the platform Duration: From creation to close time Users trade on your platform while the market is on delphAI:

Buy YES/NO positions
Sell positions
Provide liquidity
Monitor prices

Platform Responsibilities:

Execute trades
Update odds/prices
Handle deposits/withdrawals
Display market info
Poll delphAI for market status

Checking Market Status:

function getMarketStatus(uint256 marketId) public view returns (MarketStatus) {
    Market memory market = delphAI.getMarket(marketId);
    return market.status; // Open, Resolved, or Cancelled
}

delphAI’s Role:

Waiting - delphAI market is Open, waiting for resolution time

Market Status Tracking

Timestamp	delphAI Status	Platform Action
Before closeTime	Open	Allow trading
At closeTime	Open	Stop trading on platform
Between close & resolution	Open	Wait for delphAI resolution
After resolution	Resolved	Distribute winnings

Phase 3: Market Close

Who: Platform (managed separately from delphAI) Duration: Instant Your platform closes trading before delphAI resolves:

function closeTrading(uint256 marketId) external {
    require(block.timestamp >= markets[marketId].closeTime, "Too early");

    // Check delphAI market is still open
    Market memory delphAIMarket = delphAI.getMarket(marketId);
    require(delphAIMarket.status == MarketStatus.Open, "Already resolved");

    markets[marketId].tradingClosed = true;
    emit TradingClosed(marketId);
}

Effects:

No new bets allowed on your platform
Positions are locked
Market awaits delphAI resolution
Users can view their positions

Gap between platform close time and delphAI resolution allows for:

Events to complete (e.g., game ends)
Data to be available (e.g., official results published)
AI to fetch accurate information

Phase 4: AI Resolution

Who: delphAI resolver (automatic) Duration: Seconds to minutes At the scheduled resolution time, delphAI’s AI resolver activates:

Trigger

When block.timestamp reaches resolutionTimestamp, delphAI’s resolver can resolve the market

AI Execution (Offchain)

AI agent performs resolution:

Parse question and description (criteria)
Query specified data sources
Fetch relevant data
Analyze against criteria
Determine winning outcome
Generate resolution explanation

Onchain Submission

Resolver calls delphAI contract:

// Only authorized resolver can call this
function resolveMarket(
    uint256 marketId,
    uint256 outcomeIndex,
    string memory resolutionData,
    string[] memory resolutionSources,
    uint8 resolutionConfidence,
    bytes memory proofData
) external onlyResolver {
    // Updates market on delphAI contract
    market.status = MarketStatus.Resolved;
    market.outcomeIndex = outcomeIndex;
    market.resolutionData = resolutionData;
    market.resolutionSources = resolutionSources;
    market.resolutionConfidence = resolutionConfidence;
    market.resolvedAt = block.timestamp;

    emit MarketResolved(marketId, outcomeIndex, outcome, resolutionData, resolutionSources, resolutionConfidence);
}

Platform Queries Resolution

Your platform checks for resolution:

function checkAndDistribute(uint256 marketId) external {
    // Query delphAI market
    Market memory delphAIMarket = delphAI.getMarket(marketId);

    // Check if resolved
    require(delphAIMarket.status == MarketStatus.Resolved, "Not resolved");
    require(!markets[marketId].distributed, "Already distributed");

    // Get winning outcome
    uint256 winningOutcome = delphAIMarket.outcomeIndex;
    string memory aiExplanation = delphAIMarket.resolutionData;

    // Mark as resolved and ready for claims
    markets[marketId].resolved = true;
    markets[marketId].winningOutcome = winningOutcome;

    emit MarketResolved(marketId, winningOutcome, aiExplanation);
}

Resolution Data Available:

outcomeIndex: Index of winning outcome in possibleOutcomes array
resolutionData: AI’s explanation of the resolution
proofData: TEE attestation (future feature)
resolvedAt: Timestamp when resolved
resolvedBy: Address of the resolver

Phase 5: Settlement

Who: Platform + Users Duration: Ongoing (users claim when ready) After delphAI resolves, the platform handles payouts:

Platform Calculates Winnings:

function calculateWinnings(uint256 marketId, address user)
    public
    view
    returns (uint256)
{
    // Get resolution from delphAI
    Market memory delphAIMarket = delphAI.getMarket(marketId);
    require(delphAIMarket.status == MarketStatus.Resolved, "Not resolved");

    uint256 winningOutcome = delphAIMarket.outcomeIndex;
    uint256 userStake = markets[marketId].bets[user][winningOutcome];
    uint256 totalWinningStake = markets[marketId].totalBets[winningOutcome];
    uint256 totalPool = markets[marketId].totalPool;

    // Proportional payout
    return (userStake * totalPool) / totalWinningStake;
}

Users Claim:

function claimWinnings(uint256 marketId) external {
    uint256 winnings = calculateWinnings(marketId, msg.sender);
    require(winnings > 0, "No winnings");
    require(!claimed[marketId][msg.sender], "Already claimed");

    claimed[marketId][msg.sender] = true;
    payable(msg.sender).transfer(winnings);

    emit WinningsClaimed(marketId, msg.sender, winnings);
}

delphAI’s role is complete - market is resolved on delphAI, platforms query the result and handle payouts

Phase 6: Archived

Who: Platform Duration: Permanent Market is permanently resolved and archived: What’s Available:

✅ Historical data viewable on delphAI
✅ Resolution details preserved
✅ Trade history accessible on platform
✅ AI explanation permanently stored
❌ No further actions possible

Timeline Example

Real-world example: “Will Lakers win vs Warriors on Feb 15, 2025?”

Jan 1, 2025 00:00 UTC    → Platform creates market on delphAI (pays fee)
                           → delphAI returns marketId
                           → Market is Open on delphAI
  ↓
[30 days of active trading on platform]
  ↓
Feb 15, 2025 15:00 UTC   → Game starts (platform still allows bets)
  ↓
Feb 15, 2025 17:30 UTC   → Game ends
  ↓
Feb 15, 2025 18:00 UTC   → Platform closes trading
                           → delphAI market still Open
  ↓
Feb 15, 2025 19:00 UTC   → Resolution Time reached
                           → delphAI AI resolver activates
                           → Queries ESPN API for final score
                           → Determines Lakers won 112-108
                           → Calls delphAI.resolveMarket()
                           → Market status = Resolved on delphAI
  ↓
Feb 15, 2025 19:02 UTC   → Platform queries delphAI.getMarket()
                           → Sees status = Resolved, outcomeIndex = 0 (YES)
                           → Reads resolutionData (AI explanation)
                           → Marks market as resolved on platform
                           → Winners can claim
  ↓
[Users claim over next days/weeks]
  ↓
Mar 1, 2025              → Market archived on platform

State Transitions

delphAI Market States:

delphAI has 3 market states:

Open: Market created, waiting for resolution time
Resolved: AI has resolved the market
Cancelled: Market was cancelled before resolution

Platform-Side States:

Your platform manages its own states separately:

Trading Open: Users can place bets
Trading Closed: Bets closed, waiting for delphAI resolution
Distributing: delphAI resolved, calculating payouts
Settled: Payouts complete
Archived: Market finished

Error States:

Edge cases that platforms must handle:

Resolution Delay: Resolver hasn’t resolved yet
- Action: Wait or have backup manual resolution
Data Source Unavailable: APIs down during resolution
- Action: Resolver uses fallback sources or delays
Market Cancelled: Market cancelled on delphAI
- Action: Return all bets to users
Query Failure: Can’t read delphAI market
- Action: Retry queries, handle RPC failures

Next Steps

Resolution Process

Deep dive into how delphAI resolves markets

Smart Contract Reference

Explore the contract interfaces

Integration Guide

Step-by-step integration guide

Best Practices

Learn platform integration best practices

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