Using The App

# OTC and Market

S&F has two trading paths because settlement and execution are different jobs.

OTC is protocol issuance and redemption. Market is instant secondary-market trading.

# OTC

OTC mode mints or burns synthetic exposure against the S&F protocol pools.

The trade is not instant. First, the trader locks collateral or synthetic tokens. Then the trade settles at the next oracle round. After settlement, the trader or an approved third party can claim the output.

OTC uses the oracle settlement price. It does not use an AMM curve and does not have market slippage.

This delayed flow protects the protocol from oracle latency attacks, where a trader could otherwise try to settle against a stale oracle price after learning the next price.

# Market

Market mode trades already issued synthetic tokens in a secondary market.

The trade executes immediately, and the price is determined by the market pool. Market trades can have slippage, just like any AMM swap.

Market mode does not need to wait for the next oracle round because it does not directly mint or redeem through the protocol pool.

# Why both exist

OTC gives S&F neutral oracle-settled issuance and redemption. Market gives users instant execution between oracle rounds.

Together, they let ETC act as the canonical settlement layer while trading can happen wherever there is liquidity. Market makers can arbitrage the difference between secondary-market price and settlement value.

For the deeper mechanics, see OTC Issuance and Redemption, Market Trading, and Oracle Rounds.

# Two prices, two purposes

OTC uses the oracle price for protocol settlement.

Market uses the secondary-market price for immediate execution.

Those prices can differ. That difference is not a bug; it reflects the difference between canonical settlement and instant market liquidity.