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Conditional tokens: partitions of collateral on a reported outcome

Gnosis Conditional Tokens. Gnosis.

Conditional tokens split collateral into positions that pay out when an oracle reports an outcome. The split is the design. The oracle is an input.

A reading of the project's public design document. Not a copy, not a benchmark, and not an offer.

Conditional tokens split collateral into positions that pay out when an oracle reports an outcome. The split is the design. The oracle is an input.
Evidence
Primary paper
Re-measured
No
Assumptions
3
Records linked
3

01 Claim ledger

What the paper is allowed to say

Each row is a sentence already in the study. The status is the same on every row: a model claim, not a live measurement.

  1. Claim 01 · Paper model

    The defect

    A prediction market, an insurance pool, and a futarchy vote can all be this contract. The contract does not know which story you tell.

  2. Claim 02 · Paper model

    The proposal

    Conditional tokens split collateral into positions that pay out when an oracle reports an outcome. The split is the design. The oracle is an input.

  3. Claim 03 · Paper model

    The mechanism

    A condition is a question with an outcome slot count. Positions are partitions of that condition.

  4. Claim 04 · Paper model

    The bound

    This note does not describe a particular market's question.

02 Three cuts

Observation, model, falsifier

A desk does not stop at the summary. Each claim is cut three ways, using only this study's own assumptions and checks. Nothing here is a new figure.

  1. 01 The defect

    Observation

    What the study says

    A prediction market, an insurance pool, and a futarchy vote can all be this contract. The contract does not know which story you tell.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading the conditional-token contracts repository, not a market's rules.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Who is the oracle address on the condition?

  2. 02 The proposal

    Observation

    What the study says

    Conditional tokens split collateral into positions that pay out when an oracle reports an outcome. The split is the design. The oracle is an input.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading the conditional-token contracts repository, not a market's rules.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    Who is the oracle address on the condition?

  3. 03 The mechanism

    Observation

    What the study says

    A condition is a question with an outcome slot count. Positions are partitions of that condition.

    Model

    What has to hold

    No price, supply, yield, or adoption figure is added by this desk.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    How many outcome slots does the question have?

  4. 04 The bound

    Observation

    What the study says

    This note does not describe a particular market's question.

    Model

    What has to hold

    You are reading the conditional-token contracts repository, not a market's rules.

    Falsifier

    What would retire it

    How many outcome slots does the question have?

03 Sequence

One action, as an operating tape

  1. 01A condition is a question with an outcome slot count. Positions are partitions of that condition.
  2. 02Collateral is locked when positions are minted and paid when the positions are redeemed against a report.
  3. 03The oracle is whoever the condition names. The token contract does not fetch the truth.

04 Load-bearing

The argument, and where a pitch drops it

  1. What the name has to mean

    The cut

    Conditional tokens split collateral into positions that pay out when an oracle reports an outcome. The split is the design. The oracle is an input.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    A later client, parameter or reward formula is a different object from this paragraph.

  2. What actually moves

    The cut

    Collateral is locked when positions are minted and paid when the positions are redeemed against a report.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    A bad report pays the wrong slot. The contract will still do it.

  3. What a later deployment may change

    The cut

    The oracle is whoever the condition names. The token contract does not fetch the truth.

    Why it carries weight

    If this cut is skipped, the paper's name is being used without the mechanism that makes the name mean anything.

    Where it is dropped

    A bad report pays the wrong slot. The contract will still do it.

05 Register

What has to be true

  • Model · Not re-measured

    You are reading the conditional-token contracts repository, not a market's rules.

  • Model · Not re-measured

    The document is the one at the source URL. A marketing page with the same brand is not this text.

  • Model · Not re-measured

    No price, supply, yield, or adoption figure is added by this desk.

06 Divergence

What happened after the paper

This is the framework Polymarket and others use. Their fee and matching rules are not in this document.

A later client, parameter set, or reward formula is a different object. Cite this paper for the mechanism. Cite a primary release for the network. This desk has not re-run the proof.

07 Pre-mortem

What to check before you use the idea

  4. 0 of 3 marked on this browser. A mark is a reading note, not a pass, a rating, or a recommendation.

08 Anatomy

The paper, in the order a builder needs

The problem it names

A prediction market, an insurance pool, and a futarchy vote can all be this contract. The contract does not know which story you tell.

What the design proposes

  • A condition is a question with an outcome slot count. Positions are partitions of that condition.
  • Collateral is locked when positions are minted and paid when the positions are redeemed against a report.
  • The oracle is whoever the condition names. The token contract does not fetch the truth.

How the mechanism is specified

  • A condition is a question with an outcome slot count. Positions are partitions of that condition.
  • Collateral is locked when positions are minted and paid when the positions are redeemed against a report.
  • The oracle is whoever the condition names. The token contract does not fetch the truth.

What this page does not treat as proven

  • This note does not describe a particular market's question.
  • A bad report pays the wrong slot. The contract will still do it.
  • This is the framework Polymarket and others use. Their fee and matching rules are not in this document.

Why the desk still reads it

Conditional tokens split collateral into positions that pay out when an oracle reports an outcome. The split is the design. The oracle is an input.

09 Lexicon

Terms, opened into the record

Condition
A question identifier plus an outcome count. It is not the text of the question.
Position
A claim on collateral if the report matches a partition of outcomes.

10 Repository

Every linked record on this page

Underlined words open a page that already exists: a concept, a protocol profile, a failure record, or another paper. If a word is not underlined, this desk does not have a record for it.

This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.

Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.