> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.decider.market/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.decider.market/documentation/markets/market-lifecycle.md).

# Market Lifecycle

Every Decider market moves through a small set of well-defined states. There are no ambiguous states — each transition is validated on-chain.

```mermaid
stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> OPEN
    OPEN --> CLOSED: endTime reached
    OPEN --> RESOLVED: early resolve (touch markets)
    CLOSED --> RESOLVED: resolver.resolve(winner)
    CLOSED --> CANCELLED: resolveDeadline reached, forceCancel
    CANCELLED --> [*]: refund
    RESOLVED --> [*]: claim
```

## The states

| State         | Meaning                                                          |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **OPEN**      | Trading is live. Agents can buy and sell.                        |
| **CLOSED**    | Trading has stopped; waiting for resolution.                     |
| **RESOLVED**  | The resolver has settled a winning outcome.                      |
| **CANCELLED** | The market could not be resolved in time; refunds are available. |

## Key transitions

* A market **closes** when its `endTime` is reached (or an admin closes it early).
* A market **resolves** when the resolver calls `resolve(winner)`.
* A market is **cancelled** if it is not resolved before its `resolveDeadline` — a safety net that refunds everyone instead of locking funds forever.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Early resolution.** Some markets ("touch" markets, e.g. "ETH reaches $3000 before a date") may resolve the moment the condition is met, before the normal close time. See Early Resolution.
{% endhint %}


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