Yield and end

How vault surplus is shared when the circle finishes.

Goal

Understand when yield starts, how end settlement works, and why later payout positions earn a larger share.

When yield starts

Pool yield accounting begins when the circle starts (roster full), not when you create or join.

• Appreciation on locked shares before start is normalized back to your free shares at start.
• After start, appreciation on locked collateral is pooled for end settlement.

Steps — what happens at the end

1. The final tick runs end settlement.
2. Each member’s remaining principal collateral is returned as far as the vault and reserve allow.
3. A configured yield fee (if any) is taken from surplus and paid to the protocol owner.
4. Remaining surplus is split by shuffled payout position with weights 1, 2, …, N.
5. Your locked shares unlock; the pool is ended.

What the protocol does

Later positions in the shuffled order get larger weights. For six members, weights are 1 through 6 (total 21). If surplus is 21 USDC, position #1 gets 1, #4 gets 4, #6 gets 6 — integers; leftover dust goes to the last participant.

Early recipients get the pot sooner (like receiving cash early) and a smaller yield share. Late recipients finance earlier pots longer and earn more surplus if the vault performed.

Early vs late (intuition)

Position	Cash timing	Yield weight
Early (e.g. #1)	Pot sooner	Smaller share of surplus
Late (e.g. #N)	Pot later	Larger share of surplus

Payout order is random at start — you do not choose your weight.

Estimates

Apps may show expected or estimated yield from current vault surplus. Treat those as illustrations. Misses, fees, and vault losses can change the final amount.

Common mistakes

• Expecting yield from the moment you joined a pending pool.
• Assuming equal yield for every member — weights follow shuffled position.
• Treating on-screen estimates as guaranteed payouts.

See also

• Rounds
• Risks and fees
• Glossary
• Implementation: End settlement