Redeem

Redeem is the CTF operation that burns winning outcome tokens after a market's resolution and converts them back into pUSD at $1.00 per winning token. On Polymarket, redeem is the final settlement step that lets holders cash out their winning ERC-1155 outcome tokens once UMA (the optimistic oracle) has reported the market outcome and any disputes are resolved.

Key takeaways

• Redeem burns redeemable (winning) outcome tokens and returns pUSD at $1.00 each.
• It is a post-resolution CTF action — only possible after UMA has finalized the outcome.
• Redeem converts on-chain outcome tokens (ERC-1155) back into the settlement asset pUSD.

In context

After a market resolves on Polymarket, outcome tokens corresponding to the winning outcome become redeemable. To realise value, you perform a CTF redeem operation which burns those winning tokens and credits your wallet with pUSD at a rate of $1.00 per token. Redeem is distinct from split and merge: split mints a complete set of outcome tokens from pUSD, merge converts a complete set back into pUSD before resolution, and redeem settles only the winning tokens after resolution.

On Polymarket the Relayer and the platform's tooling handle the mechanics of calling the CTF redeem function for most users, so you generally interact with redeem through the UI or the Polymarket Relayer Client SDK. Redeem requires the market to be resolved by UMA; if UMA is still in dispute or the outcome is not final, redeem will not succeed.

What to watch for

• Resolution timing: UMA disputes can delay redeemability. Don’t assume immediate settlement at the announced resolution time.
• Partial holdings and approvals: make sure the tokens you intend to redeem are in the wallet the Relayer expects; the Relayer handles on-chain gas but wallet and token state still matter.
• Smart-contract and oracle risk: redeem depends on the CTF contracts and UMA. These are standard protocol risks on Polymarket.

See also

• /glossary/ctf
• /glossary/resolution

How this affects your trading

Redeem is the terminal step for realising value from winning positions. If you trade around resolution, plan for potential delays from UMA disputes and account for settlement timing when managing liquidity. Knowing how redeem fits into the split/merge/redeem lifecycle helps you decide whether to hold winning tokens for on-chain settlement or to trade them beforehand on the CLOB.

In the closing paragraph, remember that CTF redeem is the action that turns winning outcome tokens into pUSD at $1.00 each; it requires a final UMA resolution and is subject to the usual settlement and protocol risks.