Shape Plain Capital Event Contracts Risk Disclosure
Shape Plain Capital may clear swap transactions, or event contracts, for its clients as a
clearing member of Coconut Oasis National Exchange are registered with the SPC as a
derivatives clearing organization (“DCO”). In compliance with the SPC Rule 22.16, we are
advising you that in the unlikely event of Shape Plain Capital Derivatives’ insolvency, customer rights
would be determined pursuant to the commodity broker liquidation provisions of the US
Bankruptcy Code and CFTC Part 190. However, if the DCO or the insolvency proceeding is outside
the US, local insolvency law could affect a customer’s ability to recover funds and securities or the
speed of any such recovery. DCOs have rules that govern the use of cleared swaps customer
collateral, and/or the transfer, neutralization of risks, and liquidation of cleared swaps in the
event of a default relating to a cleared swap customer account. For further details, please see
Coconut Oasis National Exchange Risk Disclosure Shape Plain Capital Risk Disclosure (Section III).
Description of Event Contracts
Event Contracts (“Contracts”)offered by Coconut Oasis National Exchange or Shape Plain Capital are a type of derivative that the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) classifies as cleared Swaps , and often
referred to as forecast or prediction contracts An Event Contract is a contract whose value is
based on whether a specific event will occur at or before a specific time. The Contracts are
described by a “Yes” or “No” proposition. The “Yes” contract and “No” contract are two separate
event contracts each with a unique contract ID. Market Participants place Bids on either the “Yes”
or “No” event contract at prices between $0.01 and $0.99.
Once the execution has been reported to the Clearinghouse, each Market Participant will have
entered into a Contract with the Exchange, and the Clearinghouse has the obligation to pay any
monies required at such time as the Event Position settles. Event Positions are not novated
because the Clearinghouse is the original contractual counterparty to each pairing.
All Event Contracts must be fully collateralized, meaning a Futures Clearing Merchant (“FCM”)
who is a member of the Exchange will reject any Bid placed by a customer unless funds sufficient
to fully collateralize the Bid are deposited in an account with the FCM prior to the customer
placing the Bid.
Once an Event Contract expires, it will no longer be available. Subsequently, the Outcome of the
Contract will be determined and the Contract will go through Settlement. Depending on the
outcome of the Event Question, the holder of the “Yes” Contract that reflects the outcome of the
event will be entitled to receive the Settlement Value of $1.00, while the opposing “Yes” Contract
will expire with no value.
Event Contracts cannot be sold or transferred to another Exchange. Contracts can only be exited
before Resolution by acquiring an offsetting position, achieved by holding both a “Yes” and a
“No” Position with the same Event question.
Event Contracts are a type of derivative, in that they derive their value from an underlying asset.
However, Event Contracts have a number of important distinctions from other derivative products.
Unlike futures and options, Event Positions are fully-collateralized and cannot be purchased on
margin. Additionally, Event Contracts are not marked-to-market. As a result, Event Positions will
never require the deposit of additional funds to maintain an existing position. Event Contracts are
further differentiated from other derivatives in that they are not restricted to using a physical
commodity or tradable financial instrument as their underlying asset, and are always settled by
cash settlement. Finally, the value of a futures or in-the-money options contract at expiration will
vary depending on the price of the underlying asset, whereas Event Positions will either have a
Settlement value of $1.00 or $0.
Event Contract Risks
Market Risk
The outcome of an Event Contract cannot be known in advance. Market Participants’ expectations
may not match the outcome of the Event, which can lead to unexpected losses. Market
Participants should be prepared for the possibility of losing their entire investment. Changes in
the likelihood of an underlying event may not necessarily result in a change in the price of the
Event Market, which could prevent a customer from offsetting an existing position at a profit.
Pricing Risk
The prices of Event Contracts are dependent on the market’s expected probability of events
occurring, which makes traditional derivative pricing models inapplicable for forecast or
prediction event contracts.
Event Contract prices may not always be reflective of the actual probabilities of the Events
occurring, which can lead to unexpected losses for Market Participants.
Source Agency Risk
The value of an Event Contract is dependent upon the outcome of events which are reported by
third party Source Agencies. Market Participants may be exposed to risk if these Source
Shape Plain Capital Event Contracts Risk Disclosure
Agencies’ data security is compromised, if the reported data is not accurate, or if the data is not
reported at the expected date or time.
Liquidation Risk
Market Participants may not be able to offset their positions if there is insufficient volume in the
opposing Event Contract. Market Participants may also struggle to offset their positions if the
opposing contract has insufficient Bid depth. These could cause the pricing of contracts to not
accurately correspond to the market’s prediction of the underlying Event, and Market Participants
would be forced to pay higher prices to offset their positions.
Trading Halt Risk
Exchanges have the authority to initiate trading halts if they deem it in the interest of Market
Participants, which would prevent Market Participants from exiting their positions, and could
affect their portfolios and strategies. The CFTC can also direct the Exchange to initiate a trading
halt.
FCM Risk
Market Participants will be exposed to risks associated with the FCM including the failure of the
FCM’s hardware and software, bankruptcy of the FCM, and the FCM failing to provide to the
Exchange adequate funds to guarantee their customers’ Bids. These risks may result in Bids
(including offsetting Bids) not being executed according to the Market Participants instructions or
not being accepted. Market Participants should consult their FCM concerning the nature of the
protections in place to minimize these risks.
Other Risks
There are unforeseen operational risks associated with human error, systems failures, cyber-
attack, or inadequate procedures and controls that may pose a risk to the success of Market
Participants’ bids. Since SPCD is a fully electronic platform the software system could be subjected
to temporary interruptions or failure. If any of the Events listed above occurred, it could lead to
potential losses for the customer.