“polymarket resolution is a state machine, not a timestamp, and oracle finality is not cash finality”
Polymarket markets don't resolve at one moment. They move through a chain: rules written, oracle asked, answer proposed, disputed or not, answer final, payout recorded, money collected. Each step takes its own time. Asking the oracle can start days before a market is answerable; on newer routes the median wait to a first answer is 2 to 8.6 days, while a post-dispute reset resolves in 5 to 48 minutes. Rules also keep changing mid-resolution. Disputes are rare, about 1% of proposals. The lesson for leverage builders: don't use a countdown timer, treat each state separately. Part I of two.
Extensive technical background assumed
Platforms mentioned: Polymarket