Short a token

To short a token on Runner you buy a put. A put is the right to sell the token at a fixed strike. It gains when the token falls below that strike. You pay a premium once, and that premium is the most the put can lose.

On the Leverage page this is SHORT. SHORT buys puts. You are buying, the same way LONG buys calls. Nothing is borrowed and nothing is liquidated. There is no funding payment. See Buy a call or put.

What you can lose

If the token rises, or never falls far enough, the put decays toward nothing and the premium is gone. The size halves every half-life, so a fall that comes late pays less. See Risks.

A thin market can have no bid when you want to sell the put. The other way out is exercise, when it covers, or holding until the size is gone.

Writing is a different trade

Writing a call, on the Write page, collects a premium and locks the token. If the token rises, you deliver it at the strike, and that loss can be larger than the premium you received. The short on the Leverage page is a put you bought, and its loss stops at the premium. See Write options.