Glossary
Quick definitions for the terms you'll run into. Each links to the fuller story.
Ask
The lowest price anyone's currently willing to sell at, the "lowest ask." See How prices move.
Available balance
Funds you can bet or withdraw right now, not tied up in open orders or escrow. See Your wallet & assets.
Bid
The highest price anyone's currently willing to buy at, the "highest bid." See How prices move.
Binary market
A market with two outcomes, Yes and No, whose prices add up to a dollar. See Understanding markets.
Denomination
The asset a market is priced and settled in, usually USDC. See Your wallet & assets.
Dispute window
The window (around 12 hours) after a result is proposed when anyone who bet can challenge it, before money moves. See Market resolution.
Ephemeral market
A short-lived market that closes on a timer, often capped on players or pot size. See Create a market.
Escrow
The per-market pot that holds everyone's stakes and pays the winners at settlement. See Positions & payouts.
Fill
When your order matches another trader's. A partial fill matches only part of it. See Order types.
KYC (Know Your Customer)
Identity checks you barely touch on Kohana: an email lets you fund and bet, and verification only raises high withdrawal limits. See Account limits.
Limit order
An order that sets your price; it rests in the book until someone meets it. See Order types.
Maker
The resting side of a trade. You added liquidity, so you pay the lower fee. See Fees.
Market order
An order that fills now at the best prices available, with no price guarantee. See Order types.
Multi-outcome market
A market with several outcomes, exactly one of which wins; the prices still add up to a dollar. See Understanding markets.
Network fee (gas)
The small blockchain cost of settling on-chain, usually a cent or two. It's baked into your fee, not something you top up. See Fees.
Order book
The live list of resting buy and sell orders, where the price gets discovered. See How prices move.
Passkey (WebAuthn)
A phishing-resistant sign-in using your device's fingerprint, face, or a hardware key. See Two-factor authentication.
Position
What you hold in a market after orders fill, with an average price and a live value. See Positions & payouts.
Private market
An unlisted market, off the public board, open only to people you share the link with. See Create a market.
Public market
A market listed on the board for anyone to find and bet on. See Create a market.
Recovery codes
One-time backup codes that get you in if you lose your 2FA device. See Two-factor authentication.
Reserved funds
Part of your balance set aside to back resting orders, freed when they fill or cancel. See Your wallet & assets.
Resolution
Deciding which outcome won so a market can settle. See Market resolution.
Scalar market
A market that settles to a number in a range rather than a yes/no. See Understanding markets.
Seed liquidity
The bit of money a creator puts up so a new market has something to bet against. It's the creator's first position, not a fee. See Create a market.
Settlement
Paying out a resolved market: winning shares pay $1, losing shares pay $0. See Positions & payouts.
Share
The unit you bet with. One share in the winning outcome pays $1. See How prediction markets work.
Short
Betting against an outcome by selling shares you don't hold, backed by collateral. See Betting against.
Spread
The gap between the highest bid and the lowest ask. Tight in busy markets, wider in quiet ones. See How prices move.
Step-up verification
A fresh 2FA check at the moment of a sensitive action like a withdrawal. See Two-factor authentication.
Taker
The crossing side of a trade. You took liquidity, so you pay the higher fee. See Fees.
USDC
A US-dollar stablecoin (1 USDC ≈ $1), the most common betting and settlement unit on Kohana. See Deposit funds.
USDT
A US-dollar stablecoin (1 USDT ≈ $1), supported alongside USDC. See Deposit funds.
Void
Cancelling a market that can't be settled fairly, returning everyone's stake proportionally. See Market resolution.