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Whether you are placing your first trade or exploring advanced order types, understanding the core terminology of Jua Predictions will help you make informed decisions. This glossary covers every key concept on the platform, grouped by theme so you can find exactly what you need.

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Markets & Trading

A market is a YES/NO question about a real-world event. Each market has a clearly defined resolution criteria and an event date by which the outcome will be known. For example: “Will the Kenyan shilling trade below 130 to the dollar by 31 December 2025?” You buy YES or NO shares based on your prediction.
Shares are tokens that represent your position in a market. When you buy into a market, you receive either YES shares or NO shares. Each winning share pays out 1 USDC at resolution. You can buy, sell, or hold shares at any time before the market resolves.
Every market resolves to one of two outcomes: YES or NO. If the real-world event described in the market question occurs, the market resolves YES. If it does not, it resolves NO. Only holders of the winning side receive a payout.
The house engine is an automated market maker (AMM) that is always available to trade against. You do not need another user on the other side of your trade — the house engine accepts your order instantly and adjusts share prices based on demand. The more YES shares that are bought, the higher the YES price becomes.
The CLOB is a peer-to-peer order book where you set your own price and wait for another user to match your order. Unlike the house engine, the CLOB does not adjust prices automatically — it matches buy and sell orders at the prices you specify. The CLOB can offer better prices than the house engine when there is sufficient liquidity.
A market order is an instruction to trade immediately at the current house engine price. It executes instantly and does not wait in an order book. Use market orders when you want certainty of execution over price.
A limit order lets you specify the exact price at which you are willing to buy or sell shares. Your order is placed in the CLOB and waits until another user is willing to trade at your specified price. If the price is never matched, your order remains open until you cancel it.
An open order is a limit order that has been placed but not yet fully filled. The funds required to cover an open order are moved to your locked balance and held until the order is matched, cancelled, or expires.

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Balances

Your cash balance is your real, funded money on the platform. It is denominated in USDC and can be used to trade, pay trading fees, and make withdrawals. Funds are added to your cash balance when you deposit via M-Pesa or crypto, or when a winning position pays out.
Your promo balance consists of bonus credits granted by the platform (for example, through referral rewards or promotional campaigns). Promo credits can be used to buy shares, but they cannot be used to pay trading fees and cannot be withdrawn. They are separate from your cash balance at all times.
Your locked balance is the portion of your funds that is currently held to cover open limit orders in the CLOB. These funds are not available for new trades until the order is matched or cancelled, at which point they are returned to your tradable balance.
Your tradable balance is the amount you can use to place new trades right now. It is the sum of your available cash balance and your promo balance, excluding any funds currently locked in open orders.
Your withdrawable balance is the portion of your cash balance that can be sent to M-Pesa or a crypto wallet. Promo credits and locked funds are not withdrawable. Only real, unlocked cash balance can be withdrawn.

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Lifecycle

Before a market goes live, it starts as a proposal. Any user can submit a market proposal by describing the question, the resolution criteria, and the event date. Once submitted, the proposal is reviewed by the platform administrators.
When you submit a market proposal, a USDC deposit is locked as a commitment. If your proposal is approved and the market goes live, the deposit is returned to your cash balance. If the proposal is rejected, the deposit is forfeited. This discourages low-quality or spam proposals.
Resolution is the process by which a platform administrator determines the final YES or NO outcome of a market after the event date has passed. The administrator reviews the real-world outcome against the market’s resolution criteria and closes the market accordingly.
Once a market resolves, holders of the winning shares receive a payout of 1 USDC per winning share. The total payout is credited directly to your cash balance. Losing shares expire worthless.