A: Trading on HedgeStreet is simple and secure. You don't need any special computer skills or prior experience.

You must first become a member of HedgeStreet in order to trade on HedgeStreet. To do so, click on the Open Account link and follow the step-by-step application process. Once your membership application is approved and the account is funded, you can begin trading on HedgeStreet.

A: There is a wealth of information on our website relating to contracts, including how our contracts are created, traded, and settled. Therefore, there are a few different ways to learn about trading and contracts.

1. The Discover Binaries section of our website provide detailed information on how contracts are structured and defined, as well as trading scenarios and examples. This section also explains the unique characteristics of binary options.
2. Contract-specific information can be found on each contract's Contract Details page, which is accessible by clicking Contract Details in the graph area on the trading page. This page contains information on the contract's underlying asset, settlement source agency, trading period, payout criteria, and links to where you can obtain more information on how the underlying figures are compiled. Information and examples on settlement, including sample trades and hedging and speculating strategies, are also available on this page.
3. You will find general information on trading and contracts in this Help section, as well as questions and answers regarding HedgeStreet, your account, positions and balances, and much more.

A: No. All orders placed on HedgeStreet must be fully collateralized prior to trade execution.

A: Limit orders that are good until cancelled are currently supported by HedgeStreet. If a sufficient quantity of contracts trade at the limit price you selected, your order will be filled at your price or better. If the market does not trade at your price, your trade will not be filled and your order will be automatically cancelled at the close of business on the contract's Last Trading Day. You will receive an informational email notifying you that your trade has been filled.

A: As a person-to-person exchange, HedgeStreet prices are entered by individual members. Similar to entering a bid in an auction, you can enter any price you feel is right. The cash required from your account for the order is the quantity of contracts times the Cash Required to Trade for each contract.

A: Generally, you can trade any quantity down to a single contract, though the fee structure makes it uneconomical to trade in single contract amounts.

The CFTC does require that HedgeStreet implement speculative position limits on many of our instruments. These limit amounts are outlined on each contract's Details page as well as the HedgeStreet Rulebook.

A: On HedgeStreet, orders are matched when the 'Bid' and 'Ask' prices are equal. When a trade is executed, the highest 'Bid' price (the price at which you can sell a contract) and the lowest 'Ask' price (the price at which you can buy a contract) are used (providing they are equal). When an order you have placed is executed, it is essentially matched by another member of HedgeStreet. So, if your orders remain open, this simply means that your orders were not yet matched with another order on the Exchange.

A: Though there is no guarantee that your order will be filled, you can try to increase the possibility of your orders being filled by engaging in any of the following activities:

1. When entering prices for your buy orders, choose a price higher than the current 'Bid' price;
2. When entering prices for your sell orders, choose a price lower than the current 'Ask' price;
3. When placing a buy or sell order, you can choose to buy or sell the contract at the current 'Bid' or 'Ask' price, which will highly increase the chance of your order being at least partially filled immediately.

It is important to note that all open orders for contracts that have reached their last trading day will be cancelled shortly after the close of business on that day.

A: To see if your order has been executed, you can:

1. Check your email. When your order is executed, either fully or partially, you will receive a confirmation email providing details of the trade;
2. Check your Transaction History or Order History to see whether the order is listed as completed;
3. Look at your Open Orders page - if the order is listed, it has not been executed;
4. Check your Positions page to see whether your positions have changed.

A: Yes. You can modify or cancel any open orders prior to the close of trading on a contract's last trading day. Open orders can only be modified when the market is open. However, you may cancel open orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including when the market is closed.

A: Yes. The 'Bid' and 'Ask' prices are as current as the time you last refreshed the page. That time is displayed at the top right corner of the page. You can use the Refresh link on the upper right of the page or the Refresh button on your browser to ensure you have the latest information.

A: Yes. The 'Bid' and 'Ask' prices you see on HedgeStreet are generated either from other members who have placed orders that are waiting to be filled, or market makers who buy and sell contracts by placing bids and offers for other traders to fill. If a contract is displaying both a 'Bid' and 'Ask' price, or no Bid/Ask prices, you can still enter a buy or sell order for that contract with the limit price you choose. The highest 'Bid' price (the price at which you can sell the contract) and the lowest 'Ask' price (the price at which you can buy the contract) are displayed on the Trader Center page under the Trade tab.

A: It's easy to buy or sell contracts; however, you must be a member of HedgeStreet. The simplest way is to go to the Trader Center, select a contract to trade and then specify the price and quantity of the selected contract you want to buy or sell in the trade entry box. Your order will be placed in real-time on the HedgeStreet Exchange. If you place a buy order, your order will appear in the 'Bid' column of the Order Book. If you place a sell order, your order will appear in the 'Ask' column of the Order Book.

A: If you place an order to buy or sell contracts and there is no matching order enabling the order to be executed immediately, your buy or sell order will be placed in the 'Bid' or 'Ask' column of the Order Book, respectively. (The onscreen Order Book shows only the best 'Bid' and 'Ask' prices for a contract, so your order may not be displayed in the Order Book unless your designated price places your order among the best current open orders.) When your order is executed, the appropriate funds are moved between the counterparty's account and your account, and the trade is recorded. Your contract Positions account is adjusted for the contracts you have bought or sold and you are sent an email confirmation of the trade.

A: Yes. You are able to take a short position on binary options. When taking a short position, your initial transaction will be a sell order. To obtain a short position, sellers must pay the maximum amount that you can lose by taking that position. For a Binary, this is equal to the $100 contract payout value minus the buyer's price.

A: You can hold a contract for any amount of time you wish, up to the close of trading on the contract's Last Trading Day. The date that appears in the name of the contract exhibits the contract's Last Trading Day, which is the day the contract will stop trading on the Exchange. During that time, you are free to trade the contract as often as you like. Thus, you are also allowed to close out a position at any time prior to the close of trading on the contract's Last Trading Day.

A: At a specified time on a contract's last trading day, all open orders for the contract will expire and automatically be cancelled. The contract will no longer be available to trade on HedgeStreet. The date that appears in the name of the contract exhibits the contract's Last Trading Day. The last trading day and time can be also found in the At-a-Glance table on the contract's Details page.

A: Expiration values will be posted on the HedgeStreet website shortly after 9:00 p.m. ET for the contracts that expired that day. You can reference the updated expiration values for a particular contract by viewing the Result page.

A: Once a contract's expiration value has been released, the contracts are settled after the appropriate market closes on the settlement date. Any proceeds due from the settled contracts will be credited to your account and generally will be available to trade with or withdraw one day after the settlement date.