alpha-arcade-interaction

name	alpha-arcade-interaction
description	Trade on Alpha Arcade prediction markets on Algorand via Algorand MCP tools — browse markets, read orderbooks, place limit/market orders, manage positions, cancel/amend orders, split/merge shares, and claim winnings. Use when user asks about prediction markets, event betting, YES/NO shares, orderbooks, or Alpha Arcade.

Alpha Arcade — Prediction Markets on Algorand

Interact with Alpha Arcade prediction markets via the Algorand MCP server (15 tools across read-only and trading categories). All operations use the Algorand MCP wallet for signing; no separate mnemonic needed.

Key Characteristics

• On-chain prediction markets — all orders and settlements happen on Algorand
• Binary and multi-choice markets — bet on YES/NO outcomes or choose from multiple options
• USDC-denominated — all collateral and payouts in USDC (ASA 31566704)
• Microunit inputs — all prices and quantities in tool inputs use microunits (1,000,000 = $1.00 or 1 share)
• Formatted outputs — read tools return human-readable strings like "$0.50" and "2.50 shares"

Setup

Alpha Arcade tools are built into the Algorand MCP server. Load them via ToolSearch before use:

ToolSearch("+alpha")                                           # Load all Alpha Arcade tools
ToolSearch("select:mcp__algorand-mcp__alpha_get_live_markets") # Load a specific tool

Trading uses the local agent wallet (SQLite-backed at ~/.algorand-mcp/wallet.db) — no separate mnemonic needed.

Variable	Required	Description
ALPHA_API_KEY	For reward markets	Alpha Arcade API key
ALPHA_API_BASE_URL	No	API base URL (default: https://platform.alphaarcade.com/api)

Read-only tools work without a wallet. Trading tools require an active wallet account (see wallet_get_info and wallet_add_account).

Units & Price Format

All prices and quantities in tool inputs use microunits: 1,000,000 = $1.00 or 1 share.

Human value	Microunit value
$0.50	500,000
$0.05 slippage	50,000
1 share	1,000,000
30 shares	30,000,000

Tool outputs from read tools (get_orderbook, get_open_orders, get_positions) return pre-formatted strings. Write tools accept raw microunit integers.

API probability fields are microunits, NOT percentages

Critical: The yesProb and noProb fields returned by market data (e.g., get_market, get_live_markets) are in microunits (0–1,000,000), NOT percentages (0–100).

yesProb value	Meaning	Display price
862,500	86.25% chance	$0.86
500,000	50% chance	$0.50
50,000	5% chance	$0.05

To convert for display: price = yesProb / 1,000,000 → e.g., 862500 / 1000000 = $0.86

Do NOT divide by 100 or treat as a percentage — this produces values like 8,625,000,000 which overflow uint64 and cause transaction failures.

Market Data Model

Binary markets

A standard yes/no market has a single marketAppId, yesAssetId, and noAssetId. Use marketAppId for all trading calls.

Multi-choice markets

Multi-choice markets (e.g., "Who wins the election?") have an options[] array. Each option is its own binary market with its own marketAppId:

{
  "title": "Presidential Election Winner 2028",
  "options": [
    { "title": "Candidate A", "marketAppId": 100001, "yesAssetId": 111, "noAssetId": 112 },
    { "title": "Candidate B", "marketAppId": 100002, "yesAssetId": 113, "noAssetId": 114 }
  ]
}

Always trade using the option's marketAppId, not the parent.

Orderbook Mechanics

Four-sided book

The orderbook has four sides: YES bids, YES asks, NO bids, NO asks.

Cross-side equivalence

Because YES + NO always = $1.00:

• A YES bid at $0.30 is equivalent to a NO ask at $0.70
• A NO bid at $0.71 is equivalent to a YES ask at $0.29

The get_orderbook tool returns a unified YES-perspective view that merges all 4 sides automatically.

Limit vs market orders

• Limit order (alpha_create_limit_order): Sits on the orderbook at your exact price. No matching happens. Appears in get_open_orders as an unfilled order until matched or cancelled.
• Market order (alpha_create_market_order): Auto-matches against existing orders within your slippage tolerance. Returns the actual fill price. Filled immediately — does NOT appear in open orders.

Positions vs open orders

• Positions (alpha_get_positions): YES/NO token balances the wallet holds. These come from filled market orders, split shares, or received transfers. Positions represent ownership of outcome tokens.
• Open orders (alpha_get_open_orders): Unfilled limit orders sitting on the orderbook. Each has an escrowAppId that can be used to cancel or amend.

A common mistake is checking only open orders after a market order — market orders fill immediately and become positions, not open orders. Always check both.

Collateral

Every order requires both ALGO and USDC/tokens:

• ALGO: ~0.957 ALGO locked per order as minimum balance requirement (MBR) for the on-chain escrow. Refunded on cancel or fill.
• Buy orders: Lock USDC as trade collateral (proportional to quantity × price).
• Sell orders: Lock outcome tokens (YES or NO) as collateral.

If a trade fails with an "overspend" error, the wallet lacks sufficient ALGO or USDC. Check both balances before retrying.

Algorand MCP Alpha Arcade Tools

Read-only tools (no wallet required)

Tool	Purpose
alpha_get_live_markets	Fetch all live markets with prices, volume, categories
alpha_get_reward_markets	Fetch markets with liquidity rewards (requires ALPHA_API_KEY)
alpha_get_market	Fetch full details for a single market by ID
alpha_get_orderbook	Fetch unified YES-perspective orderbook for a market
alpha_get_open_orders	Fetch all open orders for a wallet on a specific market
alpha_get_positions	Fetch all YES/NO token positions for a wallet across all markets

Trading tools (require active wallet account)

Tool	Purpose
alpha_create_limit_order	Place a limit order at a specific price
alpha_create_market_order	Place a market order with auto-matching and slippage
alpha_cancel_order	Cancel an open order (refunds collateral)
alpha_amend_order	Edit an existing unfilled order in-place
alpha_propose_match	Propose a match between a maker order and your wallet
alpha_split_shares	Split USDC into equal YES + NO tokens
alpha_merge_shares	Merge equal YES + NO tokens back into USDC
alpha_claim	Claim USDC from a resolved market

Key Workflows

Buying shares

Step 1: Check wallet
  → wallet_get_info { network }

Step 2: Browse markets
  → alpha_get_live_markets { network }
  (or alpha_get_reward_markets for markets with liquidity rewards)

Step 3: Check liquidity
  → alpha_get_orderbook { marketAppId, network }

Step 4: Place order
  → alpha_create_market_order { marketAppId, side, quantity, maxPrice, network }
  (auto-matches) or
  → alpha_create_limit_order { marketAppId, side, quantity, price, network }
  (rests on book)

Step 5: Save the returned escrowAppId — needed to cancel or amend

Step 6: Present transaction link
  → Show any returned txIds as clickable explorer links:
    Mainnet: https://allo.info/tx/{txId}
    Testnet: https://lora.algokit.io/testnet/transaction/{txId}

Checking your portfolio

Step 1: Check positions (filled orders / token balances)
  → alpha_get_positions { network }

Step 2: Check open orders on a specific market
  → alpha_get_open_orders { marketAppId, network }

Editing an order (amend)

Step 1: Find the escrowAppId
  → alpha_get_open_orders { marketAppId, network }

Step 2: Amend the order
  → alpha_amend_order { marketAppId, escrowAppId, price, quantity, network }
  (faster and cheaper than cancel + recreate — only works on unfilled orders)

Cancelling an order

Step 1: Find the escrowAppId and owner
  → alpha_get_open_orders { marketAppId, network }

Step 2: Cancel
  → alpha_cancel_order { marketAppId, escrowAppId, orderOwner, network }

Claiming from a resolved market

Step 1: Find markets with token balances
  → alpha_get_positions { network }
  (note the yesAssetId or noAssetId)

Step 2: Claim
  → alpha_claim { marketAppId, assetId, network }

Providing liquidity (split/merge)

Step 1: Split USDC into YES + NO tokens
  → alpha_split_shares { marketAppId, quantity, network }

Step 2: Place limit orders on both sides for market making

Step 3: Merge matched tokens back to USDC
  → alpha_merge_shares { marketAppId, quantity, network }

Post-transaction display: After any Alpha Arcade trading operation that returns transaction IDs (alpha_create_market_order, alpha_create_limit_order, alpha_cancel_order, alpha_split_shares, alpha_merge_shares, alpha_claim), always present the txIds as clickable explorer links. Mainnet: https://allo.info/tx/{txId}. Testnet: https://lora.algokit.io/testnet/transaction/{txId}.

Common Pitfalls

• Probabilities are microunits, NOT percentages: yesProb / noProb range from 0–1,000,000 (not 0–100). Treating them as percentages causes uint64 overflow and transaction failures. To display: divide by 1,000,000. To pass as price: use as-is.
• Market orders become positions, not open orders: After a market order fills, check alpha_get_positions for token balances — not alpha_get_open_orders. Open orders only shows unfilled limit orders.
• Multi-choice markets: The parent has no marketAppId for trading. Use options[].marketAppId.
• Prices are microunits in inputs: $0.50 = 500,000, not 0.5 or 50.
• Both ALGO and USDC needed: Orders require ALGO for MBR (~0.957 per order) AND USDC for buy collateral. An "overspend" error means one of these is insufficient.
• Orderbook cross-side: If you only check YES asks, you miss cheaper liquidity from NO bids. The alpha_get_orderbook tool handles this automatically.
• Save escrowAppId: It's the only way to cancel or amend your order later.
• USDC opt-in: The wallet must be opted into USDC (ASA 31566704) before trading.
• Wallet required for trading: Read-only tools work without a wallet, but trading tools require an active wallet account. Check via wallet_get_info and if no wallet exists, add one using wallet_add_account.
• Testnet by default — confirm before mainnet: The MCP server now defaults to testnet. Always pass network: "mainnet" explicitly when the user wants to trade with real funds, and confirm with them first — real money is at stake on mainnet.

Links

• Alpha Arcade: https://alphaarcade.com
• Alpha Arcade API: https://platform.alphaarcade.com