Leagues · 6 min read

Season-End Transfers: How League Standings Move Your Holdings

In some leagues the last week of the season decides who inherits whose portfolio. Not the coins. The actual positions.

When a commissioner picks a payout type that actually moves holdings (winner takes all, winner percentage, or top N), the final standings decide where everyone's positions end up, with the top finishers receiving virtual holdings from the rest of the league.

Not every league transfers assets. Commissioners can also choose “everyone keeps” (no transfer at all), a threshold reset, or a manual close. The mechanic below applies whenever a payout type does move holdings between members. See the full guide to league modes and settings for every payout option.

The transfer mechanic, step by step

When a payout moves holdings, the platform transfers them according to the standings, in a specific order designed to preserve value and avoid unnecessary market impact:

  1. In-kind transfer first. The winner receives the other member's player positions directly, the actual shares, with no forced selling. This keeps value intact and avoids dumping shares onto the market.
  2. StarCoin balance next. After positions, the remaining StarCoin balance transfers to the winner.
  3. Liquidation only if needed. Positions are sold only when necessary to protect a threshold. The largest unrealized losses sell first, then the most recently acquired gains (LIFO).
Because positions move in-kind, winning a league hands you more than a StarCoin transfer; you inherit a portfolio. The quality of the positions you receive can matter as much as the coins.

The cost-basis advantage

Here's the strategic detail most traders miss. When you receive a transferred position, it carries the original cost basis, but your 30-day holding clock starts fresh from the transfer date.

That combination can be a major advantage. Imagine you inherit a position that was bought cheaply and has since climbed. You now hold shares with a large embedded gain and a very low cost basis. When you eventually sell, you owe tax on the full difference between the sale price and that low basis, so the embedded gain is real, taxable upside that's now yours, all in StarCoins.

Inherited a position with a big embedded gain? Hold it at least 30 days before selling. Your fresh holding clock means waiting past day 30 drops you into the long-term tax tier, often halving the tax on a gain you did nothing to earn.

What happens if you finish low

On the other side of the standings, the ordered process is built to be as gentle as possible: positions move in-kind rather than being dumped, and liquidation only kicks in when it's needed to protect a threshold, and even then it sells the worst positions first. The mechanic avoids needless, value-destroying fire sales.

Play for the finish line

Because the season ends in a transfer based on the standings, late-season positioning matters. A strong finish means inheriting coins and a portfolio, potentially loaded with low-basis, high-gain positions ready to mature into long-term rates. Trade the whole season with that finish line in mind, and manage your inherited positions as deliberately as the ones you bought yourself.

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