Payouts and claims
Every winning position is paid from money the pool locked when you opened it. The route it takes to your wallet depends on the direction.
Winning short
A short is paid in USDC, and the protocol sends it to your wallet automatically. Payments go out in batches, so yours may arrive a few minutes after settlement.
If the automatic payment could not reach your wallet, the payout waits in Portfolio. Open Portfolio and press Claim. If you have several claimable positions, Claim all pays them in one transaction. A claim never expires. Take it whenever you like.
Winning long
A long is calculated in the market's own asset, cbBTC for Bitcoin. At settlement the protocol converts the whole expiry's winnings to USDC in one swap and then sends USDC to each winner's wallet automatically, in the same batches as a short.
In four situations the automatic payment does not complete, and the payout waits in Portfolio for you to claim. It is never retried, so the position tells you which one happened:
| What happened | What you claim |
| The automatic USDC payment could not reach your wallet | USDC |
| This expiry's total winnings were under $5, too small to convert | cbBTC |
| The price feed was unavailable at the moment of settlement | cbBTC |
| The conversion could not fill within 0.5% of the expected value | cbBTC |
A cbBTC payout is the same value at the moment of settlement. It is bitcoin rather than dollars, so its value moves with the market until you sell it. Claim it from Portfolio like any other payout.
Losing position
A position that settles on the wrong side of its worthless price pays nothing. It shows as Worthless in Portfolio, and there is nothing to claim or close. What you paid was the whole cost.
Position statuses
| Status | Meaning |
| Open | The settlement time is in the future |
| Settlement pending | The settlement time has passed and the price is being recorded |
| Claimable | You won and the payout is waiting for you |
| Worthless | You lost. The position is closed |
| Claimed | Your payout was sent, automatically or by you |
What Portfolio shows
The account panel summarises every position you have opened:
| Figure | Meaning |
| Realized PnL | Total payouts received minus what you paid for every settled position |
| Return on cost | Realized PnL as a share of everything you paid |
| Open PnL at mark | What your open positions would pay at the current price, minus what you paid. A guide only |
| Win rate | The share of settled positions that paid out |
| At risk | What you paid for positions that are still open |
| Unclaimed | Payouts waiting for you to claim, per asset |
Each position page also lists the opening, settlement, and payment transactions, so every step can be checked on the chain.
Where the money comes from
When you open a position the pool moves your maximum payout out of its available balance and locks it against your position. Nothing else can touch it, including a withdrawing depositor or Isometric itself. At settlement the winning amount is set aside in your name and the rest returns to the pool. Your payout is never dependent on the pool having money later. It had the money on day one.