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Understanding AMM Pricing

📖 5 min readUpdated November 7, 2025Prediction Markets
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Advanced Guide

Learn how Automated Market Makers (AMMs) determine prediction prices on VibeStarter and how to interpret market dynamics.

🤖 What is an AMM?

An Automated Market Maker (AMM) is a smart contract that automatically sets prices based on the ratio of assets in a liquidity pool. In VibeStarter's prediction markets, the AMM determines the price of "Yes" and "No" shares based on supply and demand.

💡 Key Concept: The Constant Product Formula

VibeStarter uses a modified version of the constant product formula:

x × y = k

Where x = Yes shares, y = No shares, and k = constant

📈 How Prices Are Determined

Initial Market Creation

When a prediction market is created, it starts with equal liquidity for "Yes" and "No" positions:

  • • Initial Yes shares: 1000 (50% probability)
  • • Initial No shares: 1000 (50% probability)
  • • Starting price: 0.50 SOL for each side

Price Movement Through Trading

✅ Buying "Yes" Shares

  • • Removes "Yes" shares from the pool
  • • Increases "Yes" price
  • • Decreases "No" price
  • • Shows market confidence is rising

❌ Buying "No" Shares

  • • Removes "No" shares from the pool
  • • Increases "No" price
  • • Decreases "Yes" price
  • • Shows market confidence is falling

📊 Reading Market Signals

💎 High "Yes" Price (0.70 - 0.90 SOL)

Market Sentiment: Very Bullish

  • • Strong community belief in outcome
  • • Lower potential returns for "Yes" positions
  • • Higher risk/reward for "No" positions

⚖️ Balanced Price (0.40 - 0.60 SOL)

Market Sentiment: Uncertain

  • • Market is unsure about outcome
  • • Moderate potential returns both ways
  • • Good opportunity for research-based bets

💀 Low "Yes" Price (0.10 - 0.30 SOL)

Market Sentiment: Very Bearish

  • • Low community confidence
  • • High potential returns for "Yes" positions
  • • Safer but lower returns for "No" positions

💰 Calculating Your Returns

📐 Return Formula

Potential Return = (1 ÷ Share Price) - 1
If correct: Return × Investment = Profit

Examples:

Scenario A: "Yes" at 0.25 SOL

Potential return: 300% (4x your investment)

Scenario B: "Yes" at 0.80 SOL

Potential return: 25% (1.25x your investment)

🎯 Strategic Trading Tips

🕐 Timing Your Trades

  • • Buy early for better prices before news breaks
  • • Monitor startup announcements and metric updates
  • • Consider market resolution dates for timing

📊 Volume Analysis

  • • High volume = more reliable price discovery
  • • Low volume = potential for price manipulation
  • • Sudden volume spikes often indicate new information

🔍 Arbitrage Opportunities

  • • Yes + No prices should always add up to ~1.00 SOL
  • • Small deviations create arbitrage opportunities
  • • Market inefficiencies are quickly corrected

⚠️ Important Considerations

  • Slippage: Large trades move prices more than expected
  • Liquidity: Low liquidity markets have higher price impact
  • Market manipulation: Be wary of sudden price movements without news
  • Verification delays: Markets may not resolve immediately
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Master the Markets!

Understanding AMM pricing gives you a huge advantage in prediction markets. Practice with small amounts and observe how prices react to different events!