How a
unit moves
NODEPAD is a venue, not a counterparty. It does not hold units, set prices, or decide who may trade. What follows is the mechanism a single unit passes through — from the moment it is issued, to the moment custody changes hands.
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[ 01 ]
Issue
A unit is minted against a supply that is fixed when its series opens. At mint it receives a serial, and that serial is the unit's identity for the rest of its life: it survives every transfer and is never reassigned.
Issuance is not retroactive. Once a series closes, no further units enter it — the count that existed at close is the count that exists from then on.
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[ 02 ]
Seal
Sealing writes the unit's definition to the record: which class it belongs to, which series it came from, and what it is entitled to do. After the seal that definition is read-only.
A holder can move a unit or list it, but cannot alter what it is. This is what makes two units of the same class interchangeable — and what makes a serial worth checking before you act on it.
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[ 03 ]
List
Any holder can post a unit to the open book. There is no application, no desk to clear it through, and no queue. A listing names a price and nothing else; the venue does not endorse it, rank it, or promote it.
Listing is optional and withdrawable. An unlisted unit is simply held — sitting still carries no penalty and no expiry.
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[ 04 ]
Settle
A transfer either completes in full or does not happen at all. Custody and payment move in the same step, so neither side is left exposed to the other's timing.
Once settled, the record shows the new holder against the same unchanged serial, and the listing that produced the trade is closed.
Terms
- Supply
- Fixed when the series opens; not extended afterwards.
- Serial
- Assigned at mint, permanent, never reassigned.
- Definition
- Written at seal. Read-only from that point on.
- Custody
- Held by the owner, not by the venue.
- Listing
- Optional, withdrawable, priced by the holder.
- Settlement
- Atomic — custody and payment move together, or neither moves.
What the protocol does not do
- It does not take custody of a unit at any point in the flow.
- It does not quote, suggest, or validate a price. A listing is an offer between holders.
- It does not guarantee that a buyer exists, or that one will exist later.
- It does not reverse a settled transfer, and has no mechanism to do so.
Verify before you act. A serial is the only thing that identifies a unit. Check it against the record yourself — a listing's description is written by its holder, not by the venue.