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⚖️ Variants

A commitment is not always just about how much value is bonded.

Sometimes the position itself matters.

Examples:

  • long vs short
  • for vs against
  • yes vs no
  • positive vs negative
  • bullish vs bearish

These are called Variants.

Variants allow the same commitment system to represent different economic meanings without changing the commitment engine itself.

🧠 The Core Idea​

A normal commitment looks like this:

Commitment = asset + reason + digest

A commitment with variants becomes:

Commitment = asset + reason + digest + variant

The new part is:

Variant = position

It tells the system:

what side of the commitment the proprietor is taking

🎯 Why Variants Exist​

Without variants, every commitment to the same digest would mean the same thing.

But many protocols require opposite positions on the same target.

Example:

Same digest:

Election Result

Different positions:

YES
NO

Both users commit to the same digest. But their economic meaning is completely different.

That difference is carried by the Variant.

🆔 Example: Trading​

Imagine this:

Digest = BTC Price Movement
Reason = Market Position

Now two users commit:

Alice​

Variant = Long

Bob​

Variant = Short

Same digest, same reason, but different economic position.

That is exactly what variants solve.

🪺 Variants Live Inside Digests​

Variants do not create separate commitments.

They create separate positions inside the same digest.

Think of it like this:

Example:

Validator A
 |-- Positive
 |-- Negative

or

Prediction Market
 |-- YES
 |-- NO

The digest remains the shared object.

Variants separate internal economic positions.

🔄 Why This Matters​

Variants make it possible to support:

  • prediction markets
  • directional trading
  • governance voting
  • hedged commitments
  • opposing financial positions

without creating separate commitment systems.

🧭 Mental Model​

Reason = what kind of commitment

Digest = what it belongs to

Variant = which side of that commitment

That is the complete semantic model.

📌 In One Sentence​

Variant defines the proprietor's position inside a shared digest.

It adds meaning to the commitment without changing the commitment structure.

🚀 Next Step​

The Commitment engine intentionally separates ownership from financial accounting.

The next section introduces the Lazy Balance architecture, where commit-receipt tracking and delayed lazy settlements semantics can all be replaced by custom accounting models.

👉 Concepts -> Lazy Balance Plugin