# Epochs - How markets begin and end

Every MOVE market lives in **epochs**. An epoch has:

* A **reference price** - the underlying's price at the start.
* An **expiry timestamp** - when the epoch ends.
* A **state** - `Active`, `Settling`, `Expired`, or `Cancelled`.

#### Active

The normal state. You can open positions, close them, increase, reduce, and place limit orders. The mark price updates continuously from the oracle:

```
mark_price = | current_underlying_price − reference_price |
```

#### Settling

The moment `block.timestamp ≥ expiry_time`, the epoch transitions to `Settling`:

* All resting orders are cancelled. Their collateral is released back to `available`.
* All open positions are **frozen** (not closed). They stay on the books at their current state, but no new actions can occur on them.
* The sequencer emits an `EpochSettled` event.

#### Expired

A keeper service (or anyone, as the function is permissionless) calls `Market.settleEpoch()`, which:

* Reads the final underlying price from the oracle.
* Computes the settlement price: `|final − reference|`.
* Persists it on-chain.
* Advances the market to a new epoch with a fresh reference price and expiry.

At this point, frozen positions are eligible to be **claimed**.

#### Claim

Each user with a frozen position calls `Market.claim()`. The contract:

* Computes the final realized PnL using the settlement price and the position's entry price and size.
* Releases the user's collateral + PnL back to the Hub.
* Removes the position.

The Hub's `availableBalance` for that user updates, and the user can deposit it into a new position or withdraw it.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**You must claim to get your money back.** Until you call `claim`, your collateral and PnL remain locked in the Market contract. There's no time pressure — you can claim weeks or months later — but unclaimed positions sit there idle.
{% endhint %}

#### Why "freeze + claim" instead of automatic settlement?

Two reasons:

1. **Gas efficiency.** Auto-settling thousands of positions in one transaction would be enormous. Letting each user claim their own position spreads the gas across users.
2. **Predictability.** You decide when to claim. If you're managing many positions across many markets, you can batch your operations on your schedule rather than being force-settled.

***


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