Binary matching for prediction markets & event contracts
MatchCore's binary matching engine pairs complementary YES and NO orders in real time, so every trade is fully collateralised and every market has a live, tradable order book from the first order.
How binary matching works
Each event contract trades as two complementary instruments — YES and NO — whose prices must sum to the contract's full value (typically 1.00). MatchCore continuously looks for YES and NO orders whose combined price crosses that threshold and matches them, minting one complete set of tokens for every matched pair.
Because every match is backed by real collateral posted by both sides, the venue itself never carries directional risk. Order types, price-time priority within each side of the book, and market data all behave exactly like a conventional order book — the complementary-matching logic is what happens underneath.
Built for prediction markets, not adapted to them
No principal risk
Complete-set collateralisation means the venue never needs a market-making desk to guarantee solvency.
Real order book depth
Full price-time priority and depth on both YES and NO sides — not a synthetic AMM curve.
Instant resolution settlement
Oracle-driven resolution burns the losing token and redeems the winning token atomically, in the same write-ahead log as trading.
Where binary matching fits
- Prediction markets — political, economic and current-event contracts
- Binary options venues — above/below strike contracts with fixed payout
- Sports outright & proposition markets — "will X happen" contracts alongside conventional odds
- Insurance-linked & weather-linked contracts — parametric payout structures
Binary matching, answered
What is binary matching in a matching engine?
Binary matching pairs complementary YES and NO orders whose prices always sum to the contract's full settlement value (for example 1.00 or 100 points), so every match is fully collateralised with no counterparty risk to the venue.
How is binary matching different from a CLOB?
A CLOB matches a single instrument's bids against its asks. Binary matching matches two complementary instruments (YES and NO) against each other, minting or burning complete sets as it goes, which is what makes prediction markets and binary options solvent without a central counterparty.
Can MatchCore run binary and CLOB markets in the same venue?
Yes. Binary and CLOB matching run on the same MatchCore core and cluster, so an operator can list event contracts and conventional order-book instruments side by side under one risk and settlement model.
What settlement model does binary matching use?
Complete-set minting: a buyer of YES and a buyer of NO at complementary prices jointly fund one full collateral unit, which the engine splits into a YES token and a NO token. At resolution, the winning token redeems for the full unit.