Accrual and Weekly Settlement
Yield accrues continuously and settles weekly. Here is exactly what that means.
Accrual: your balance rises second by second
A call is sold
Spout records the contract's premium onchain, net of the protocol fee at the fee rate in force when the first contract for that expiry was recorded.
The premium accrues
It is added to the tranches gradually, second by second, over the contract's life, from the day it is sold to its expiry.
Treasury bill yield accrues
It is added every day on the cash that is not lent out.
This is why share prices rise smoothly rather than jumping on payout days.
Settlement: the cash arrives weekly
After a contract expires, its cash moves from Spout's brokerage account into the lending pool in the weekly settlement. All contracts that expired in the same week settle together, so the pool's value never dips because of a part settlement.
When the cash differs from what accrued
| What happened | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Cash matches what accrued | Nothing changes |
| Cash comes in higher | The extra is added over the next 7 days |
| Cash comes in lower | The difference is taken over the next 7 days, from Junior first, then Senior |
| A contract settles below zero | Lenders receive zero for that contract, not a negative amount; Spout absorbs the rest |
Spreading adjustments over 7 days stops share prices from jumping, which would let someone time a deposit or withdrawal around a settlement.
What you see
Your balance and share price update as yield accrues. Earn shows each tranche's realized yield over the last 7 and 30 days, a backward looking figure based on how share prices actually moved.