> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.blockforecast.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 5-Minute Bitcoin Prediction Markets on BlockForecast

> Trade BTC, ETH, and SOL up-or-down on rolling 5- and 15-minute markets. Pyth-oracle resolved, USDC on Base, always-on — the fastest crypto prediction product.

BlockForecast's 5-minute markets are the fastest prediction product on the platform. The premise is simple: at the start of each round, the current spot price is captured as the anchor; at the end, the market resolves UP if the spot price is at or above that anchor, and DOWN if it's below. Markets are rolling and always-on — when one round closes, the next is already open.

## How a round works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Round opens — anchor price is set">
    At the start of each round, the live spot price for BTC, ETH, or SOL is captured from the **Pyth Hermes price feed** on Base. This becomes the "price to beat" — the anchor for the round.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Trading window opens">
    You can buy UP or DOWN shares at the current market price. For 5-minute rounds, the trading window runs for **4 minutes 30 seconds**. For 15-minute rounds, it runs for **14 minutes**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Halt window">
    Trading freezes **30 seconds before resolution** on 5-minute rounds (60 seconds for 15-minute rounds). This halt window prevents last-second exploitation where a trader can see the outcome is clearly locked in and dump size into stale quotes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Resolution — Pyth snapshot">
    At the resolution moment, the Pyth Hermes feed delivers the canonical spot price. **UP wins if spot ≥ anchor; DOWN wins if spot \< anchor.** Winning shares pay \$1 each.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Next round is already live">
    Rounds are pre-created so there's never a gap. As one round resolves, the next is already open and accepting trades.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Available markets

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="BTC 5-minute" icon="bitcoin">
    Rolling, always-on. Anchor set from Pyth Hermes BTC/USD feed.
  </Card>

  <Card title="BTC 15-minute" icon="bitcoin">
    Rolling, always-on. Longer window for slightly less noisy price action.
  </Card>

  <Card title="ETH 5-minute" icon="ethereum">
    Rolling, always-on. ETH/USD from Pyth Hermes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="ETH 15-minute" icon="ethereum">
    Rolling, always-on.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SOL 5-minute" icon="sun">
    Rolling, always-on. SOL/USD from Pyth Hermes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SOL 15-minute" icon="sun">
    Rolling, always-on.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Additional assets are available on request — Pyth covers 50+ crypto assets.

## Why 5-minute markets are interesting

**Tight feedback loop.** Traditional prediction markets run for days, weeks, or months. You wait a long time to find out whether your forecast was right. On 5-minute markets, you know within minutes. This makes the product useful for skill-building: you get dozens of data points per day rather than a handful per month.

**Pure price-action trading.** You don't need a long-term thesis on Bitcoin's value. The question is narrower: which way is BTC moving in the next five minutes? This suits technical traders, momentum traders, and anyone who watches charts closely.

**Always-on.** Crypto trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So do these markets. There's no waiting for a market to open.

## Reading the chart

The market page shows a live spot price chart sourced from the Pyth feed. A **horizontal line** marks the anchor price for the current round. A **pulsing dot** tracks the current spot price at the rightmost edge of the chart.

The dot and chart color update in real time:

* **Green** — current spot is above the anchor (UP is currently winning)
* **Red** — current spot is below the anchor (DOWN is currently winning)

The color flips instantly as the price crosses the anchor. The chart is informational — it does not predict where the price will be at resolution.

## Trade protections

Short-duration markets attract a specific kind of risk: a well-capitalized trader who can observe the spot price ticking clearly toward resolution can dump large size into the market seconds before close, exploiting stale market-maker quotes. BlockForecast layers four defenses against this:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Halt window">
    The order book closes 30 seconds before resolution on 5-minute rounds, and 60 seconds before resolution on 15-minute rounds. No trades are accepted during this window.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Time-decaying impact cap">
    The maximum price impact per trade tightens as resolution approaches. Large orders placed close to resolution receive a worse fill rather than moving the price significantly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Position cap">
    Per-wallet USDC exposure on a single round steps down as the round nears resolution, which prevents late-stage position-building by well-capitalized accounts. The current schedule is shown on the market page.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Quote auto-clamp">
    If your order size exceeds available depth, the system returns a smaller fitting quote rather than failing the order outright. You get a partial fill at the available price rather than an error.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Fees

The standard creator fee is **0.5%** per trade, plus a small protocol fee. As a round approaches resolution, the effective fee ramps up to deter last-second informed flow. This ramp applies only in the window immediately before the halt — the live fee for any round is shown on the market page before you confirm a trade.

## How to place a trade

<Steps>
  <Step title="Deposit USDC">
    You need USDC on Base. Use the in-app bridge to convert any crypto in one click. See [How to Deposit](/how-to-deposit). Minimum trade is \$1 USDC.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to the 5-minute markets">
    Navigate to [Markets](https://blockforecast.io/markets?category=binary) and filter by the binary category, or search for BTC, ETH, or SOL.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the current round">
    Check the anchor price (horizontal line on the chart), the current spot price, and the time remaining. Current YES and NO share prices reflect the crowd's directional lean.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Buy UP or DOWN">
    Click **UP** if you believe the price will be at or above the anchor at resolution. Click **DOWN** if you believe it will be below. Enter your USDC amount and confirm.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch the resolution">
    The round resolves at the snapshot moment. Winning shares pay \$1 each, automatically credited to your wallet. The next round is already open.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  5-minute markets are short-duration and highly volatile. A price that looks clearly directional 3 minutes before resolution can reverse in seconds. The market will not always move the way the chart suggests it's heading. Only trade size you're prepared to lose entirely on a given round. The time-decaying position caps are there for a reason — use the early part of the trading window when price impact and exposure limits are most favorable.
</Warning>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What's the resolution source?">
    The Pyth Hermes price feed on Base. The canonical price is the Pyth snapshot at the exact resolution moment.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if the Pyth feed is unavailable?">
    The engine falls through automatically: **Pyth Hermes → CoinGecko → Binance**. If all three sources are unavailable at the resolution moment, the round is voided and all traders are refunded in full.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I place a limit order?">
    Yes — the CLOB (central limit order book) phase of trading accepts resting limit orders that fill against incoming market orders.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does the timer sometimes show more than 5 minutes?">
    Rounds are pre-created so there's no gap between them. Before the next round opens, the timer shows "Starts in MM:SS". Once the round is live, it flips to a countdown to the halt time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the minimum trade?">
    \$1 USDC.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>