Tickless execution

Tickless execution is execution that does not respect a fixed price increment. In a tickless market, orders may execute at any price within the allowed numeric precision of the venue rather than being rounded to a discrete grid (a "tick").

Key takeaways

• Tickless execution permits orders to trade at arbitrary prices rather than on a fixed price grid.
• Polymarket does not use tickless execution for normal trading; markets on Polymarket enforce a tick size (usually $0.01, tightening to $0.001 near extremes).
• Tickless and ticked systems change how spreads, market making, and micro-arbitrage behave.

In context

You will rarely see the phrase "tickless execution" when using Polymarket because Polymarket enforces a tick size. On Polymarket the CLOB uses discrete price increments (tick sizes) for order placement and matching, and the WebSocket emits tick_size_change events when the allowed increment changes. By contrast, a venue with tickless execution would allow orders to rest and match at arbitrary fractional prices, which affects the minimum spread and the strategies arbitrageurs use.

Why it matters

Ticking rules are foundational to microstructure: they determine the smallest meaningful price improvement, shape the spread, and influence order-book dynamics. In ticked markets, liquidity and quoted spreads tend to cluster on grid points. In a tickless market, price improvement can be continuous, which can compress spreads but also changes incentives for makers and takers.

See also

• /glossary/tick-size