How It Works
What is Quasdaq?
Section titled “What is Quasdaq?”Quasdaq is a parimutuel prediction market on Quai Network. Unlike order-book prediction markets (Polymarket, Kalshi), there are no counterparties or market makers. Everyone bets into a shared pool, and winners split the pot.
Think of it like horse racing — you’re not betting against a bookie, you’re betting against other bettors. The odds shift based on where money flows.
Market Lifecycle
Section titled “Market Lifecycle”1. Someone Creates a Market
Section titled “1. Someone Creates a Market”Anyone calls createMarketAndBet on the factory contract with:
- Question — “Will BTC be above $100,000 by March 15?”
- Feed ID — which Stork Oracle price feed to check (e.g.
BTCUSD) - Strike Price — the price threshold ($100,000)
- Resolution Time — when the oracle price is checked
- Betting Close Time — when betting stops (must be before resolution)
- Seed Bet — minimum 100 QUAI initial bet to bootstrap the market
The creator earns a 1% fee on the losing pool at resolution — an incentive to create popular markets.
2. People Place Bets
Section titled “2. People Place Bets”During the betting window, anyone can bet Yes or No by sending QUAI to the market contract. No fees on entry — 100% of your QUAI goes into the pool.
The implied odds update live based on pool sizes:
Yes probability = Yes Pool / Total PoolNo probability = No Pool / Total PoolIf the Yes Pool has 200 QUAI and the No Pool has 100 QUAI, the market implies a 67% chance of Yes.
3. Betting Closes
Section titled “3. Betting Closes”At bettingCloseTime, no more bets are accepted. This creates a buffer before resolution so last-second information advantages are reduced.
4. Oracle Resolves the Market
Section titled “4. Oracle Resolves the Market”After resolutionTime, anyone can call resolve() with signed price data from the Stork Oracle. The contract checks:
- Oracle price >= strike price → Yes wins
- Oracle price < strike price → No wins
Resolution is permissionless — anyone can trigger it, not just the market creator.
5. Fees Are Deducted
Section titled “5. Fees Are Deducted”A 3% fee comes out of the losing side’s pool only:
- 2% to the Quasdaq protocol treasury
- 1% to the market creator
Winners never pay fees. Losers lose their entire bet either way — the fee just reduces the pot that winners split.
6. Winners Claim
Section titled “6. Winners Claim”Winners call claim() to receive their payout:
payout = yourBet + (yourBet / winningPool) × losingPoolAfterFeesYou always get your original bet back, plus your proportional share of the losers’ money (minus the 3% fee).
Cancellation
Section titled “Cancellation”If the oracle feed is broken or the market is otherwise unresolvable, the factory owner can cancel it. On cancellation:
- Everyone gets their original bet back in full
- No fees are charged
- The market is marked as cancelled (status = 2)
Emergency resolution (forcing Yes/No without oracle data) can only happen 48 hours after the scheduled resolution time.
Why Parimutuel?
Section titled “Why Parimutuel?”| Feature | Parimutuel (Quasdaq) | Order Book (Polymarket) |
|---|---|---|
| Counterparty | None — bet against the pool | Need someone to take the other side |
| Liquidity | Any bet size accepted | Need matching orders |
| Market makers | Not needed | Required for tight spreads |
| Manipulation | Moving odds costs real money | Can spoof with limit orders |
| Complexity | Simple: bet, wait, claim | Complex: orders, positions, margins |
The tradeoff: parimutuel odds shift when you bet (especially on thin pools), so large bets move the price against you. This is why sizing matters.