← All articles

Target dates and automatic settlement

Setting an optional target date tells the platform when to close your bet automatically using that day's regular-session closing price.

1 min read

When opening a bet, you have the option to set a target date. A bet with a target date remains open until the end of that day's regular trading session, at which point the platform closes it automatically on your behalf — unless you close it yourself first.

Which closing price is recorded

Automatic settlement records the regular session's closing price for your target date, excluding pre-market and after-hours trading.

How automated settlement runs

The platform's background sweep closes bets whose target date has passed, after regular trading hours. It applies three specific settlement rules:

  • Date anchoring: The exit price is always the regular-session close for the target date itself, even if the automated sweep runs hours or days later.
  • Weekends and holidays: If the chosen target date falls on a weekend or an exchange holiday, settlement uses the closing price from the most recent trading session on or before that date.
  • Stale-feed protection: If the market data feed is frozen or delayed when the sweep runs, the platform defers settlement to a subsequent run rather than recording an inaccurate price.

What this means for your timeline

A bet with a target date settles without manual intervention, but because settlement waits for the session close, price changes throughout that final day determine the outcome.

ShareShare on X

Related

These articles are educational. They describe how Investment Bets works and how markets commonly behave — what can happen and which risks to expect — so you can make your own decisions. Markets involve risk; past results do not predict future ones. Investment Bets is a paper-trading app and nothing here is financial, investment, or trading advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation.