Settlement
A fill is not a payout. Matching, the venue ledger, on-chain settlement, and withdrawal are four different events. Same idea as trade date vs clearing vs settlement vs cash out.
Matching (layer 1) does not wait on Solana. Withdrawal (layer 4) waits on the collateral vault.
Four layers of finality
| Layer | What it means | What you may believe | What is not true yet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Execution | The fill is real. Positions and buying power update. | “I traded.” | SPL has not moved. You cannot take that PnL off-venue yet. |
| 2. Venue ledger | The fill is in the GoDark books. | “The venue has the trade.” | Solana has not necessarily taken a new checkpoint. |
| 3. Settlement | The interval is closed. The vault records a compact statement (checkpoint) on Solana. | “This period is settled on-chain.” | A withdraw of that result may still be pending. |
| 4. Withdrawal | You unlock against an accepted statement. The vault releases USDC. | “I can take funds.” | If settlement lags, withdraw stays pending — not a silent credit. |
Fills do not move SPL. Tokens move at deposit and withdraw. See Collateral Vault and Deposit Funds.
After a fill
You see the trade immediately (layer 1–2). The public chain sees vault checkpoints (layer 3), not a per-user fill tape. Ghost withdrawals can release to a fresh ephemeral address so the payout is not publicly linked to your funding wallet (layer 4).