Time-Value Mechanics
Last updated: October 2026
b⁴ polls are vote-count markets with USDC parimutuel pools. The winner is the side with more votes, not more dollars. Winners get their stake back plus a share of the losing side's pool. Time-value mechanics change when that share is earned:
Stake early, while the book is forming. When you show up is the biggest factor in what you earn.
1. Early conviction earns double
The time-weight clock starts when the poll opens. Stake at the open and you get the full 2×. The stake fee stays at 1% for the whole poll, with a $1 minimum. Weight falls toward zero in the final 10 minutes (or the last 10% of a short poll).
| When you stake | Weight / fee |
|---|---|
| At open | 2.0× · 1% |
| Mid-poll | Decaying toward 0× · 1% fee |
| Final window | 0×, stake back only · 1% fee |
A final-minutes stake that wins gets its money back minus the fee, and no share of the pool. Late money can't free-ride on early conviction, and it can't dilute the people who committed first.
2. $15 is one full vote
Votes are no longer one-wallet-one-vote once a poll has a vote floor. $15 of net stake is 1.0 vote. Smaller stakes count as a fraction: $3 is 0.2 of a vote. That is what decides the winner at resolve.
Same-side add-ons stack on that share. Exiting zeroes your vote on that poll.
3. Exits are at face value, and leave-behind is the brake
You can exit any position before the poll closes, at face value, never at a crashed market price. Leave-behind applies only if you leave the trailing side (fewer votes; pool dollars break a tie). The leading side pays the fee only.
| When | Trailing leave-behind | Plus fee |
|---|---|---|
| At open | 10%, then ramps toward 20% | 1% |
| Final window | Flat 20% | 1% |
Counting the 1% fee on the way in and on the way out, an early trailing exit costs about 12%. A late one can cost about 22%. Holding a loser to resolve is still −100% (Loser Recovery can soften that if you engaged). Compare that to prediction markets, where a wrong-side exit can cost 50–80%.
4. Bookie odds, not a live scoreboard
b⁴ shows a bookie price, not a vote race:
- YES / NO lockups that always add to 100%. 71¢ YES means 29¢ NO.
- The live ribbon (the same detail-view chart) moves with new stakes, exits, and time weight.
- Personalized multiples after you vote: “Your $25 on NO → est. $85 if NO wins.”
- Total volume staked so far.
Exact vote counts stay off the live UI. On hidden (v3) polls, sides stay off-chain until resolve. One thing to remember: odds reflect money, not votes. 85¢ doesn't mean an 85% chance of winning. It means the other side pays more. A lopsided book is an opportunity, not a verdict.
5. Switches and alerts
- One switch per poll (YES↔NO). The sell leg pays leave-behind if you were trailing. The new side gets the time weight of the moment you switch.
- Exiting forfeits your resolve claim. Holding to resolve keeps your full entry-time weight.
- Tap the bell next to share on any live poll to get alerts when volume moves or the poll resolves.
6. The final window: trusted members only
The last 10 minutes (or last 10% of a short poll) have one flat rule, for new entries and switches:
Gold reputation or above · no time bonus
- Gold requires real history: at least $1,000 of lifetime staking volume held to resolution, and an account at least 2 weeks old.
- Same-side add-ons keep the normal $1 minimum. Exits are never gated.
- Below Gold? Your window closes 10 minutes before the poll does. Stake earlier. It pays better anyway.
7. The reputation ladder pays for itself
Reputation levels are earned with real history: staking volume held to resolution (exited positions don't count), account age, wins, and quality comments. Higher tiers give back a share of the fees you've paid.
| Tier | Resolved volume | Account age |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | $1,000 | 2 weeks |
| Platinum | $10,000 | 1 month |
| Diamond | $100,000 | 3 months |
Platinum perks
- 0.05% rakeback: five hundredths of a percent of the stakes you place, rebated monthly in USDC (5% of the 1% base fee).
- 1.25× time-pool boost on your early-holder claims.
- Higher Loser Recovery ceiling when you hold, lose, and engage.
- Platinum name color, profile flair, and pinned comments.
- Priority support and higher send limits.
Diamond perks
- 0.1% rakeback of the stakes you place, paid monthly in USDC (10% of the 1% base fee).
- Creator access: create markets and earn creator fees on every poll you launch (0.25% of the winning pool plus 0.5% of the losing pool).
- Diamond club access: vote on upcoming market topics, shape the roadmap, and get a direct line to the team.
- High-roller markets: Diamond-only polls with deeper pools.
- IRL events and merch.
8. Fair play policy
Coordinated vote manipulation (flooding a side with sybil wallets, mass-switching at the buzzer, faking momentum) is detected after resolution by reviewing clusters of coordinated wallets. Penalties are published; detection thresholds are not.
- Strike one: demotion by one tier, and your volume clock restarts from the strike date.
- Strike two: permanent exclusion from final-window staking.
- Coordinated clusters lose platform access entirely (staking, Loser Recovery, leaderboard, referrals).
- Poll outcomes are never reversed. Penalties apply to accounts, not results.
One honest stake per person: wallets are bound to a physical device, one wallet per device, for the life of the market.
9. The numbers at a glance
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Stake minimum / fee | $1 · 1% through a short grace, then up to 2% |
| Vote floor | $15 = 1.0 vote; smaller stakes are fractional |
| Time weight | 2.0× through a short grace, then toward 0× by the final window |
| Leave-behind (trailing only) | 20% at open → ramps to 30% by the final window |
| Max loss, early trailing exit | ~21%, fees included |
| Max loss, late trailing exit | ~31%, fees included |
| Bookie chart | Live YES/NO ribbon |
| Final window | Last 10 min: Gold+, $25 min, 0× weight |
| Gold / Platinum / Diamond | $1k + 2wk / $10k + 1mo / $100k + 3mo (resolved volume) |
| Fee rakeback | Platinum 0.05% / Diamond 0.1% of stake volume, paid monthly |
| Switches | One per poll |
| Alerts | Opt-in bell on each live poll |
10. Why we built it this way
The old pattern was bad for everyone honest: nothing happened for most of the poll, a bandwagon formed in the last minutes on a visible leader, and losers switched off before close. Early conviction was punished; late certainty was free.
Time weight pays the people who showed up first. Leave-behind keeps the losers' pool from going to zero. And the endgame belongs to members with real history.
Stake early. Stake what you believe.