> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/what-countertrade-is.md).

# What CounterTrade is

What CounterTrade is, and how a battle runs from joining a room to claiming a prize.

CounterTrade is a competitive crypto paper-trading battle. You join a room, trade a simulated balance against live market prices for a fixed window, and get ranked against everyone else in the room by your return. What makes it a competition rather than a demo: the entry fee is real, held on-chain, and the top finishers claim a real prize once the room is over.

## Money is real, trading is simulated

Three things stay strictly separate, and keeping them straight is the whole model:

* Your **paper balance** is simulated USDT you trade with inside a room. Every room starts every player with the same amount. It is not real money and **cannot be withdrawn**, no matter how well you trade.
* Your **entry fee** is a real token you deposit on-chain to join a room — USDC, on Base. It sits in the escrow contract; it is never spent on your trades. Joining is usually sponsored, so you need no ETH to play: see [Network and gas](/docs/funds-and-settlement/network-and-gas.md).
* A **prize** is a real payout you claim on-chain after a room finishes. A **refund** is your entry fee returned if a room is cancelled.

## How a battle works

A room is the thing you find in Battle Hub, create, and join. A battle is the competition that plays out inside it. From start to finish:

1. **Join a room.** You browse Battle Hub, pick a room, and pay its entry fee. The fee is pulled into the on-chain escrow contract and you're confirmed as a participant. Joining needs a linked wallet and a trader name.
2. **Trade the live window.** Once the room goes live, you place market and limit orders on markets like BTC, ETH, and SOL — all against USDT — using your paper balance. Orders are only accepted while the room's live window is open.
3. **Climb the leaderboard.** Everyone in the room is ranked by ROI — your return on that starting paper balance — on a leaderboard that updates while the room runs.
4. **The room ends and settles.** When the window closes, trading stops, final standings are calculated, and the results are settled on-chain.
5. **Claim your prize.** After the room is finalized, the winners claim their prize on-chain, to the same wallet they joined with.

If a room doesn't draw enough players before it starts, it's cancelled instead of run, and every player who joined can claim a refund of their entry fee.

Because the entry fee and prizes live in an on-chain [escrow contract](/docs/funds-and-settlement/entry-fees-and-escrow.md), you claim them yourself, from your own wallet — the backend never moves them for you. That makes the wallet you joined with your responsibility: if you lose access to it, you can't claim from it. League seasons are the exception: a season's vault sends its prizes to the wallet you joined with.

## Where to go next

* [Join your first battle](/docs/start-here/quick-start.md) — the shortest path from zero to your first order.
* [How battles work](/docs/battles/how-battles-work.md) — room formats, the live window, and how a battle is scored.
* [Entry fees and escrow](/docs/funds-and-settlement/entry-fees-and-escrow.md) — how your entry fee is held, and how prizes and refunds are claimed.
* [Leagues and seasons](/docs/leagues-and-seasons/leagues-and-seasons.md) — seasons of battles with standings, playoffs and a final.