Above / Below
The Above Below settler resolves markets based on whether a value is above or below a strike price at expiry.
What is an Above/Below Market?
An Above/Below market asks a simple question: will the price of an asset be above or below a specific level (the strike) when the market expires?
This is the most straightforward market type on Scalar. It resolves to Yes or No:
- Yes (pays $10 per contract) if the price is at or above the strike at expiry
- No (pays $0 per contract) if the price is below the strike at expiry
Above/Below is a binary market. Even though Scalar supports continuous outcomes, this market type resolves to exactly Yes or No with no values in between.
How It Works
Market is created with a strike price and expiry
For example: "Will ETH be above $4,000 on July 1?"
You buy or sell contracts at the current market price
If the market trades at $6.50, the crowd implies a ~65% chance of ETH being above $4,000 at expiry.
At expiry, the oracle reports the final price
The Pyth Network oracle provides the settlement price for the underlying asset.
The market resolves
- If ETH is at or above $4,000: resolves Yes ($10 per contract).
- If ETH is below $4,000: resolves No ($0 per contract).
Resolution
The settler contract reads the oracle price at (or near) the expiry timestamp and compares it to the strike:
price >= strikeresolves Yes (pays $10 per contract)price < strikeresolves No (pays $0 per contract)
Resolution is permissionless. Anyone can submit proof from the Pyth Network oracle to trigger settlement once the market has expired.
Example Markets
| Market | Strike | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| Will BTC be above $100,000? | $100,000 | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Will ETH be above $4,000? | $4,000 | Jul 1, 2025 |
| Will SOL be above $200? | $200 | Mar 15, 2025 |
P&L Scenarios
Suppose you buy 5 contracts of "ETH above $4,000 by July 1" at $3.20 each:
| Outcome at Expiry | Result | Payout per Contract | Your P&L |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETH = $4,200 (above) | Yes | $10.00 | (5 x $10) - (5 x $3.20) = +$34.00 |
| ETH = $3,800 (below) | No | $0.00 | (5 x $0) - (5 x $3.20) = -$16.00 |
Your maximum loss is always limited to what you paid for the contracts.