How It Works

The Game Loop

Strike runs on a continuous 5-minute cycle:

:00  Market opens → Strike price captured from Pyth
:00 - :02:30  Betting window (first half of duration)
:02:30  Betting closes (anti-frontrun lock)
:05  Market expires → Pyth price fetched → Winners determined
:05  New market opens → Cycle repeats

Markets are created at clean 5-minute intervals — on the hour, :05, :10, :15, etc.

Parimutuel Model

Strike uses a parimutuel betting model — the same system used in horse racing and many prediction markets.

How It Works

1. All bets go into a shared pool

2. The pool is split into two sides: UP and DOWN

3. When the market resolves, the winning side splits the entire pool

4. Your share = your bet / total winning side bets

Example

Player	Side	Bet
Alice	UP	0.1 BNB
Bob	UP	0.1 BNB
Charlie	DOWN	0.2 BNB

Total pool: 0.4 BNB

If BTC goes UP:

• Alice gets: (0.1 / 0.2) × 0.4 = 0.2 BNB (2x return)

• Bob gets: (0.1 / 0.2) × 0.4 = 0.2 BNB (2x return)

• Charlie gets: 0 BNB

If BTC goes DOWN:

• Charlie gets: (0.2 / 0.2) × 0.4 = 0.4 BNB (2x return)

• Alice and Bob get: 0 BNB

A 3% protocol fee is deducted from the winning pool before distribution.

Early Bird Bonus

Bets placed earlier in the betting window receive a multiplier on their shares (up to 2x at market open, decreasing linearly to 1x at trading close). This incentivizes early participation and discourages waiting until the last second.

Edge Cases

• One-sided market (everyone bets the same way): All bets are refunded. No one loses.

• Exact price tie (resolution price = strike price): All bets are refunded.

• No resolution within 24h: Market auto-cancels and all bets are refunded.

• Empty market (no bets): Market expires silently, no action needed.

Oracle Resolution

Markets are resolved using Pyth Network price feeds.

1. At market creation, the strike price is captured from the current Pyth BTC/USD feed

2. At expiry, the resolution price is fetched from Pyth

3. If resolution price > strike price → UP wins

4. If resolution price < strike price → DOWN wins

5. If resolution price = strike price → Tie, all refunded

The Pyth price data is verified on-chain — the contract checks the Pyth signature and price staleness (max 60 seconds old).

User Flow

1. /start → Bot creates your wallet (Privy embedded wallet)
2. Fund wallet → Send tBNB to your wallet address
3. Browse markets → See the current open market with live BTC price
4. Place a bet → Tap UP or DOWN, choose an amount
5. Wait 5 minutes → Market resolves automatically
6. Claim winnings → If you won, collect your share of the pool