Will Bitcoin be higher in five minutes?
Every five minutes a new round opens with a price to beat. Buy Up or Down shares on where Bitcoin closes. A share pays $1.00 if you're right and nothing if you're wrong. Traders set the prices in an open order book.
How a round works
Rounds run on the clock, 288 a day: 12:00 to 12:05, 12:05 to 12:10, and so on.
- 0:00
The round opens
The first Bitcoin trade of the round becomes the price to beat. The order book for Up and Down shares opens.
- 0:00 to 4:58
You trade
Buy Up if you think Bitcoin closes at or above the price to beat, Down if below. Sell any time before the close to lock in a gain or cut a loss.
- 5:00
The round settles
The last trade of the round decides it. Winning shares pay $1.00 each, losing shares nothing, and the next round has already started.
Example. Up costs 40¢ a share. You buy 25 shares for $10.00. If Bitcoin closes at or above the price to beat, you receive $25.00. If it closes below, you receive nothing. The price of a share is roughly the market's estimate of the chance it pays out.
The rules
Every round follows the same rules, written down before it starts.
- Who wins
- Up wins when the last trade of the round is at or above the first. Otherwise Down wins.
- Price source
- Coinbase BTC-USD trades, the same feed shown on the chart.
- Counterparty
- Other traders. Orders are matched user against user by price, then time.
- Order types
- Market orders fill at once against the book. Limit orders wait at your price.
- The close
- Trading stops 2 seconds before the close. Open orders are cancelled and their money returned.
- No price
- If no price can be read for 10 minutes after the close, the round is void and every share pays 50¢.
- Self-trading
- Your orders never trade with each other. The older one is cancelled.
- Fees
- No trading fees during the test.
Your funds
Money sits in a smart contract on Base, not in a company bank account. You can check the books at any time.
A vault on Base
Deposits go into the Wickcall vault contract. The vault address appears here once on-chain deposits are switched on.
Withdrawals you sign for
Each withdrawal is a one-time voucher bound to your wallet, the amount and a deadline. It can't be used twice or by anyone else.
A public ledger check
The ledger audit shows what traders are owed against what came in, and on-chain, against what the vault holds.
Before you trade
- You can lose your whole stake. A share on the wrong side pays nothing.
- Five minutes is short. Bitcoin can move against you in seconds, and outcomes near the price to beat are close to a coin flip.
- This is a test. Wickcall runs with test money only. Real-money trading will only open where it is permitted, and only for adults.
- The software is new. The vault contract has not had an independent audit yet.
Questions
Is this real money?
No. Wickcall is in a private test. The exchange uses test dollars that have no value, on Base Sepolia, Base's test network, or as play money in your browser.
Who sets the prices?
Traders. Prices come from limit orders in the order book. Wickcall also runs a market maker that keeps buy and sell orders in the book so there is always something to trade against, on the same terms as everyone else.
What do I need to start?
For the play-money version, nothing: open the exchange and continue as a guest. For the test network you need a wallet such as MetaMask and an address on the test allowlist.
Why does my wallet show a warning?
Wallets warn about new sites they have not reviewed yet. Wickcall only ever asks your wallet to share your address, sign a free login message, and approve deposits of the exact amount you type. Check every request before you confirm it.
Can I sell before the round ends?
Yes. Sell your shares to anyone bidding for them at any time until 2 seconds before the close.
What happens if the price feed fails?
Settlement waits for the closing price. If it still can't be read 10 minutes after the close, the round is void and every share pays 50¢.