Series vs contract
Updated November 10, 2026
A series is the ongoing topic hub (e.g., recession markets); a contract is the specific tradable question with its own dates, thresholds, and rules. Series outlive individual contracts as events resolve and new ones list.
The recession series on recession markets covers US recession questions over time. A contract might ask “US recession by the end of the year?” with its own price, resolution date and definition of a recession. When that contract settles, the series page rolls forward to the next listed question.
The ongoing topic hub: US recession questions over time. It outlives individual contracts as events resolve and new ones list.
The specific tradable question: “US recession by the end of the year?” with its own price, resolution date and definition of a recession.
What makes two contracts in a series different
Contracts in the same series share a topic and usually a resolution source. They differ in the terms that decide what yes means: the deadline, the threshold, and the measure. Each of those differences makes a separate question, with its own order book and its own price.
Deadlines. A recession contract that runs to December 31 and one that runs six months longer ask different questions. The later contract covers every outcome the earlier one does, plus six more months, so if the two are priced consistently the later one trades at or above the earlier one.
Thresholds. A CPI series might list contracts at several thresholds on the same release. "Above 3.0%" resolves yes in every case where "above 3.2%" does, and in some where it doesn't, so the lower threshold is the more likely of the two and should carry the higher price.
Measures. Headline and core CPI come out in the same release and can move in different directions. Two contracts in the same series that name different measures can settle differently on the same morning.
Prices that break these relationships, such as a later deadline trading below an earlier one, can point to thin trading in one of the contracts. Liquidity covers why a quote in a thin book is a weak reading.
What you hold when you trade
A position is always in one contract. When that contract settles at $1 or $0, the position ends. Nothing carries over to the next question the series lists, and trading that one is a new position with its own price and terms.
The series page is the place to follow a topic. The contract is where the rule text lives, and it is the contract's terms that settle your position.
FAQ
What is a series in a prediction market?
A group of related contracts on one recurring topic, such as US recession questions or monthly inflation prints. You trade the contracts within it, one question at a time.
Does my position roll over to the next contract in a series?
No. Each contract settles at $1 or $0 on its own terms, and the next contract in the series is a separate trade.
Why do contracts in the same series have different prices?
They ask different questions. A different deadline, threshold or measure changes the set of outcomes that count as yes, and the price reflects that set.