How to verify a pick

Step by step on your own computer

You need a terminal and OpenSSL, which come with macOS and Linux (on Windows, use Git Bash or WSL). The commands use batch 6ad7b8ebf5c911225f24680c as the example; every batch works the same way.

1. 1

   Download the batch file and its receipts

   Each batch has four files: the batch file (JSON), two timestamp receipts (.tsr, one per authority) and an OpenTimestamps proof (.ots). Download them from the batch's page or with these commands. The batch file is published once the batch's matches are over; the receipts are public from the start.

   B=https://api.footballedge.io/proofs/6ad7b8ebf5c911225f24680c
   curl -sOJ $B/manifest.json
   curl -sOJ $B/freetsa.tsr
   curl -sOJ $B/digicert.tsr
   curl -sOJ $B/manifest.json.ots

2. 2

   Recalculate the fingerprint

   Calculate the SHA-256 of the batch file and compare it with the fingerprint shown for the batch. They must be identical, character for character. If a single pick or percentage had been changed, the fingerprint would be completely different.

   shasum -a 256 footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json

   certutil -hashfile footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json SHA256

3. 3

   Check the timestamp authorities' signatures

   FreeTSA and DigiCert are independent timestamp authorities (RFC 3161). Each one signed our fingerprint together with the time it received it. OpenSSL checks that the signature is genuine and that it covers this exact file. Both commands must print “Verification: OK”.

   curl -sO https://freetsa.org/files/cacert.pem
   curl -sO https://freetsa.org/files/tsa.crt
   openssl ts -verify -data footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json -in footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json.freetsa.tsr -CAfile cacert.pem -untrusted tsa.crt

   openssl ts -verify -data footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json -in footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json.digicert.tsr -CAfile /etc/ssl/cert.pem

   To see the signed time, print the receipt. It must be before the batch's kick-off.

   openssl ts -reply -in footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json.freetsa.tsr -text

   FreeTSA's certificates come from freetsa.org. DigiCert's root certificate is already in your system's certificate store: /etc/ssl/cert.pem on macOS, /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt on Debian and Ubuntu.

4. 4

   Check the Bitcoin anchor

   OpenTimestamps adds the fingerprint to a Bitcoin block, usually within a few hours. After that nobody can remove it or change its date, the timestamp authorities included. Check it with the OpenTimestamps client, or drop the .ots file and then the batch file on opentimestamps.org.

   pip install opentimestamps-client

   ots verify footballedge-picks-20261020T1900Z-c3aa18237f11.json.ots

   opentimestamps.org
5. 5

   Compare the picks with the track record

   Open the batch file in any text editor. Each entry is one call: the match, the market (1X2 or Over/Under 2.5), “pick” or “skip” (no pick), the outcome and our probability in whole percent. Find the match on the track record or on its match page: the call, the outcome and the percentage must be the same.

   Open the track record

One command for all of it

Our open-source verifier runs every check above, including the signatures and the Bitcoin block, and prints a clear PASS or FAIL for each. It needs Node.js 20 or later and nothing else.

npx footballedge-verify 6ad7b8ebf5c911225f24680c

What this proves, and what it doesn't

18+ only. Our picks are statistical estimates, never certainties. If you bet, only bet what you can afford to lose.

All sealed batches and how to check them