Trade lifecycle

See how each copy is sized for budget limits and version compatibility.

A copied position moves through the same steps on both exchanges, from the moment a Captain makes a Call until the exchange resolves the market. Every order is placed in the account it belongs to: the Captain's in the Captain's own account, yours in your own Polymarket or Kalshi account.

1. The Call and its price limit

For HiveTrade-routed orders, HiveTrade enforces a maximum price ceiling: the market price when the Call's orders go out plus 5% of that price, rounded up to the cent (at least $0.02), and never above $0.97. A bot can sign a tighter price limit for its Call, and then that lower limit is the Call's limit for every order. An older Polymarket bot that trades from its own wallet places its Captain order separately with the runner's configured ceiling; see bot execution modes.

2. Your copy is sized and placed

Your copy is your full per-call budget, capped at what is left of your Hive budget and at your tier's per-call cap. The Captain doesn't choose how much of your budget a Call uses; only the platform reduces it, proportionally, when the market can't fill everyone (below). Automated (bot) Hives work the same way. The Captain's own order stakes the Amount per Call the Captain set on the Hive, within the Captain's Total budget; a Call itself names no amount. When HiveTrade submits the Captain order, it starts sending it first and releases Member orders alongside it, without waiting for the Captain's fill or conditioning copies on that result. Arrival order and actual fills can still differ. An older Polymarket bot that trades from its own wallet uses the separate intent-then-local-order flow described in its guide. In follow-up rounds, the participants furthest behind their total requested amount go first, toward a common filled proportion. Exchange minimums can temporarily put someone ahead; they then wait for the others to catch up. Actual fills can still differ.

Every order fills right away, in full or in part, or is cancelled. Nothing is left waiting on the order book. Prices within the limit, and how much fills, can differ slightly from one account to the next.

3. When the market is thin

If the market cannot take every full order inside the limit, the engine targets a common proportion of requested amounts. No order is ever below the exchange minimum ($1 on Polymarket, 0.01 contract on Kalshi), so an order whose share would be smaller gets exactly the minimum or nothing, by a random draw weighted by its share: a copy whose share is $0.40 gets $1 in 40% of such draws at that target. Exchange minimums, rounding and budget limits can make proportions differ; equal fills are not guaranteed. The human Captain's own order is never in the draw. If less than $5 could be placed near the current price, or the market's spread between buy and sell prices is too wide, a Captain's Call is refused rather than placed badly.

The human Captain participation threshold is a warning, not a promise that the Captain must fund a particular percentage before a Call or Member join can proceed. Venue minimums, available funds and budget limits still apply.

4. Buy now, or keep buying for 6 hours

The Captain chooses on each Call:

• Buy now: orders are placed once, when the Call is made. What the market can't fill then is not bought later.
• Keep buying for up to 6 hours: anyone still short, the Captain included and sized the same way as a Member, is retried inside the same price limit, furthest-behind first, toward a common filled proportion: every minute for the first ten minutes, then every five minutes, for up to six hours. Retries stop early if the market stops trading, is about to close, the game starts, or the Call is closed or resolved.

Bot Calls don't choose: they always keep buying for one minute, by the same rules, retrying every 15 seconds until one minute after the Call. This retries Members who are still short, and the bot's own Captain order where HiveTrade places it (on Kalshi, and for Polymarket bots that trade in their owner's account). An older Polymarket bot that trades from its own wallet signs its Captain order once; it is not re-signed for these rounds.

A Hive can have only one open Call per exchange market, regardless of side. A stopped or expired buy window still occupies that slot while the Call is unresolved and the Captain has not closed or sold it. There is no manual Add to this Call control; only the original window's automatic completion can add toward its original target.

5. Stop buying, or Close & sell

On any open Call the Captain has two ways out:

• Stop buying: stops further purchases for that Call, for the Captain or the Members. Existing positions aren’t sold, and it can't be undone.
• Close & sell: requests sales of the positions on the Call now. Some positions may not sell immediately.

Selling outside HiveTrade does not request sales of Members' copies. Captains and bots should request the exit through HiveTrade; an outside sale is recorded and flagged for review, while Member positions remain their own exposure.

6. Settlement

When the exchange resolves the market:

• Won: the payout lands in your own account (redeemed into your Polymarket account, or credited to your Kalshi cash automatically), is credited back to your Hive budget, and the profit is added to your P&L.
• Lost: the stake was already placed when the Call was made, so nothing more is taken; your P&L reflects the loss.
• Cancelled or void: the principal not already sold is refunded to your budget.

While a position is open, it is marked against the market's current price at its exchange. P&L is shown before fees.

Unconfirmed execution and voided Calls

Unconfirmed means HiveTrade cannot yet determine whether that order filled. It is different from Not executed; do not assume there was no trade or send another order to compensate.

A voided Call can still have traded before it was voided. When the Captain's order filled first, the Call shows as Call void with the note "Market voided after the Captain's order filled" and the Captain's realised result; an unknown amount is left blank. Not scored describes the Call's scoring, not a promise that no money moved or every stake was refunded. Check your own position and exchange account for your result.