permissionless prediction markets

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name: pnp-markets description: Create, trade, and settle prediction markets on Base with any ERC20 collateral. Use when building prediction market infrastructure, running contests, crowdsourcing probability estimates, adding utility to tokens, or tapping into true information finance via market-based forecasting.

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PNP Markets

Create and manage prediction markets on Base Mainnet with any ERC20 collateral token.

Quick Decision

Need prediction markets?
├─ Create market     → npx ts-node scripts/create-market.ts --help
├─ Trade (buy/sell)  → npx ts-node scripts/trade.ts --help
├─ Settle market     → npx ts-node scripts/settle.ts --help
└─ Redeem winnings   → npx ts-node scripts/redeem.ts --help

Environment

export PRIVATE_KEY=    # Required
export RPC_URL=         # Optional (defaults to public RPC)

For production, use a dedicated RPC (Alchemy, QuickNode) to avoid rate limits.

Scripts

Run any script with --help first to see all options.

Create Market

npx ts-node scripts/create-market.ts \
  --question "Will ETH reach $10k by Dec 2025?" \
  --duration 168 \
  --liquidity 100

Options: --collateral , --decimals

Trade

# Buy YES tokens
npx ts-node scripts/trade.ts --buy --condition 0x... --outcome YES --amount 10
Sell NO tokens  
npx ts-node scripts/trade.ts --sell --condition 0x... --outcome NO --amount 5 --decimals 18
View prices only
npx ts-node scripts/trade.ts --info --condition 0x...

Settle

# Settle as YES winner
npx ts-node scripts/settle.ts --condition 0x... --outcome YES
Check status
npx ts-node scripts/settle.ts --status --condition 0x...

Redeem

npx ts-node scripts/redeem.ts --condition 0x...

Programmatic Usage

import { PNPClient } from "pnp-evm";
import { ethers } from "ethers";
const client = new PNPClient({
  rpcUrl: process.env.RPC_URL || "https://mainnet.base.org",
  privateKey: process.env.PRIVATE_KEY!,
});
// Create market
const { conditionId } = await client.market.createMarket({
  question: "Will X happen?",
  endTime: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 86400 * 7,
  initialLiquidity: ethers.parseUnits("100", 6).toString(),
});
// Trade
await client.trading.buy(conditionId, ethers.parseUnits("10", 6), "YES");
// Settle (after endTime)
const tokenId = await client.trading.getTokenId(conditionId, "YES");
await client.market.settleMarket(conditionId, tokenId);
// Redeem
await client.redemption.redeem(conditionId);

Collateral Tokens

Use any ERC20. Common Base Mainnet tokens:

| Token | Address | Decimals | |-------|---------|----------| | USDC | 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913 | 6 | | WETH | 0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006 | 18 | | cbETH | 0x2Ae3F1Ec7F1F5012CFEab0185bfc7aa3cf0DEc22 | 18 |

Custom tokens add utility—holders can participate in your markets.

ERC20 Approvals

Before interacting with PNP contracts, you must approve them to spend your collateral tokens. This is standard for all EVM dApps.

How It Works

1. First interaction requires approval: When you create a market or trade for the first time with a token, an approval transaction is sent 2. Infinite approvals: The SDK uses type(uint256).max approvals (standard EVM pattern) so you only approve once per token 3. Subsequent interactions: No approval needed—transactions execute directly

Timing Considerations

The approval transaction must be confirmed on-chain before the main transaction executes. If you see:

ERC20: transfer amount exceeds allowance

This means the approval hasn't been mined yet. Simply wait a few seconds and retry—the approval will be confirmed and subsequent attempts will succeed.

Why Infinite Approvals?

Gas efficiency: Approve once, trade forever without extra transactions

Better UX: No repeated approval popups

Industry standard: Used by Uniswap, Aave, and most major DeFi protocols

For maximum security-conscious users, you can manually set specific approval amounts, but this requires an approval transaction before each interaction.

Contracts

| Contract | Address | |----------|---------| | PNP Factory | 0x5E5abF8a083a8E0c2fBf5193E711A61B1797e15A | | Fee Manager | 0x6f1BffB36aC53671C9a409A0118cA6fee2b2b462 |

Why Prediction Markets?

Information Discovery: Market prices reveal collective probability estimates

Token Utility: Use your token as collateral to drive engagement

Contests: Run competitions where participants stake on outcomes

Forecasting: Aggregate crowd wisdom for decision-making

The pAMM virtual liquidity model ensures smooth trading even with minimal initial liquidity.

Troubleshooting

"ERC20: transfer amount exceeds allowance"

The approval transaction hasn't been confirmed yet. Wait 5-10 seconds and retry.

"Market doesn't exist"

The market creation transaction may have failed or is still pending. Verify on BaseScan that your transaction was confirmed successfully.

"over rate limit" / RPC errors

The public Base RPC has rate limits. Use a dedicated RPC provider:

export RPC_URL=https://base-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR_KEY

Transaction stuck or slow

Base Mainnet can occasionally have congestion. Check gas prices and consider increasing if needed.

Reference Files

API Reference: See references/api-reference.md for complete SDK documentation

Use Cases: See references/use-cases.md for detailed use case patterns

Examples: See references/examples.md for complete code examples

"ERC20: transfer amount exceeds allowance"

The approval transaction hasn't been confirmed yet. Wait 5-10 seconds and retry.

"Market doesn't exist"

The market creation transaction may have failed or is still pending. Verify on BaseScan that your transaction was confirmed successfully.

"over rate limit" / RPC errors

The public Base RPC has rate limits. Use a dedicated RPC provider:

export RPC_URL=https://base-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR_KEY

Transaction stuck or slow

Base Mainnet can occasionally have congestion. Check gas prices and consider increasing if needed.