Resolution, Disputes, and Finality

How Foremarket resolves truth without central authority while remaining economically sound.

Resolution is the most sensitive phase of any prediction market. It is where probabilistic belief collapses into binary fact, and where incentives are most likely to be attacked. Foremarket’s resolution system is designed to be explicit, economically enforced, and adaptable to different trust assumptions, without reverting to platform discretion.

Every market defines its resolution path at creation time. This is not decided later. Resolution is part of the market’s contract.

At a high level, Foremarket supports three resolution modes:

ResolutionMode =
  ExternalOracle | CreatorResolver | Hybrid

Each mode is appropriate for different classes of questions.

ExternalOracle resolution is used for events with clear, machine-verifiable outcomes: price thresholds, block heights, on-chain state changes, or widely syndicated data feeds. In this mode, the market specifies an oracle source and a resolution rule encoded as deterministic logic. Once the oracle publishes the relevant data, resolution is automatic. No human intervention is required.

CreatorResolver mode is used for markets where context, interpretation, or off-chain verification is unavoidable. In this case, the market creator is responsible for submitting the outcome after expiry. This power is constrained by economics. The creator’s bond remains locked until resolution is accepted. A malicious or incorrect resolution exposes the bond to slashing.

Hybrid resolution combines both approaches. An oracle provides a primary signal, but the creator or a designated resolver confirms interpretation. This is useful for events where data exists but requires contextual framing, such as regulatory decisions or policy outcomes.

Disputes are handled through a bonded challenge mechanism. During the Resolved state, any participant may dispute the proposed outcome by posting a dispute bond:

Dispute {
  disputed_outcome: OutcomeID
  bond_amount: uint256
}

If no dispute is raised within the dispute window, the resolution finalizes automatically. If a dispute is raised, the system escalates to a secondary resolution process, which may involve additional oracles, community arbitration, or predefined fallback logic depending on market configuration.

Crucially, disputes are not free. Challengers risk capital. If a dispute fails, the challenger’s bond is slashed. If it succeeds, the challenger is rewarded from the creator bond. This ensures that disputes are raised only when there is genuine disagreement, not as a griefing vector.

Finality occurs when the dispute window closes and all challenges are resolved. At this point, the market transitions to Settled. Outcome tokens become redeemable, and no further intervention is possible.

Foremarket’s approach to resolution is not about eliminating trust. It is about making trust explicit, bounded, and priced. Different questions require different resolution models. The protocol supports this diversity without central oversight, while ensuring that every market reaches a clear and irreversible conclusion.

This is what allows permissionless market creation to scale without collapsing into chaos.