Order
- Tenant
- service / category
- offering or requirements
- region
- resource requirements
- provider constraints
- price / cap
- escrow
Demand with budget behind it. Nothing matches until the escrow account exists.
Learn · Acquisition
Direct order, open bid or selector?
Every order resolves on-chain, but there are three ways to reach a match: name the listing, open the order to bids, or describe requirements and let the engine match. The right choice is about certainty versus competition versus fit.
Figures
Default · listed price
Name the listing. Buy at the published price.
Pick a provider's offering and plan from the catalogue and order it directly. The order names that exact listing, matches without a bidding window, and becomes a lease backed by escrow. This is the default path — and the right one for most purchases.
- published plans
- known provider
- predictable price
- SaaS seats
- managed services
- fixed catalogue products
Catalogue · example listing H100 GPU Node 1 × H100 · published price
↓ Direct order Names that listing escrow funded · no bidding window
↓ Lease Matched at the listed price 0 competing bids
Opt-in · price discovery
Post what you need. Providers compete on price.
Open your order to a bidding window and let eligible providers offer prices. Accept a bid yourself, or let the matching engine take the best-ranked offer when the window closes. Use it for fungible capacity where competition should set the price.
- price discovery
- flexible provider choice
- custom compute requirements
- larger workloads
Tenant requirement 4 GPUs · ≥ 320 GB VRAM region: AU · max price set
↓ Open order Bidding window opens eligible providers notified by their daemons
- Provider A$1.42 / GPU-hr
- Provider B$1.29 / GPU-hr · selected
- Provider C$1.51 / GPU-hr
Lease Selected bid becomes the agreement escrow funded
Attribute matching
State the requirements. Get matched to eligible listings.
Instead of naming a provider, describe the category, region, minimum specifications and maximum price. The engine filters to eligible listings and matches deterministically within your cap — request-for-quote semantics without the negotiation round-trip.
- policy-driven sourcing
- region constraints
- hardware requirements
- compliance and attestation filters
- Region = AU
- GPU ≥ A100
- Confidential = required
- Price ≤ cap
Attribute engine Filters eligible listings deterministic within the cap
↓ Deterministic match Best eligible listing no provider named in the order
| Path | Direct | Open bid | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider chosen by | Tenant | Market / tenant | Requirements |
| Price | Listed | Competitive | Eligible listing |
| Wait for bids | No | Yes | No |
| Best use | Known product | Price discovery | Fit / attributes |
Table scrolls horizontally on narrow screens.
Match
- direct listing
- accepted bid
- selector result
Match selection happens on-chain. Every path resolves deterministically to one provider and one price.
Lease
- tenant
- provider
- offering
- pricing
- escrow
- lifecycle
The enforceable agreement. Fulfilment, usage and settlement all reference the lease.
Direct order — name the listing
Direct ordering is the default. The tenant picks a provider's offering and plan and pays the published price. The order names that listing, matches without a bidding window, and becomes a lease backed by escrow.
Use it when the product is known and the price should be predictable: published plans, SaaS seats, managed services, fixed catalogue products.
Open bid — let providers compete
An open order describes the requirement and opens a bidding window. Provider daemons watch the chain, price the work against their configured strategy, and place bids that must satisfy the order's resource and attribute requirements.
The tenant can accept a bid or let the matching engine take the best-ranked offer when the window closes. Use it for fungible capacity where competition should set the price.
Selector — describe what qualifies
A selector order names no provider. The tenant states category, region, minimum specifications and a maximum price; the engine filters to eligible listings and matches deterministically within the cap.
Use it for policy-driven sourcing: region constraints, hardware requirements, compliance or attestation filters — anything where the fit matters more than the vendor name.
What never changes
Whichever path is used, the order is backed by escrow before it can match, match selection happens on-chain, and the resulting lease carries the same metering and settlement rules. There is no private order book and no off-platform deal.
Asked about three ways to buy
Can I switch paths after ordering?
Each order carries its own path from creation. Choose the path that matches how you want the provider and price decided.
Who sets the price in an open bid?
Competing providers do, within your order's requirements. Bids are on-chain objects and multiple bids against one order are the price-setting mechanism for that mode.
Does a selector order guarantee the cheapest listing?
It resolves deterministically to the best eligible listing within your cap — eligibility is defined by the requirements you set.