Bound until both

12 September 2026

A one-sided finish is a gift to whoever moves last. A take that sits as a balance is a purse someone can empty. Those two facts describe most books.

Now look at Handfast. Each trade leaves a Window Share. The share is not a purse. It is a Timed Hold. Unbind needs the Gate Rule and a Counter Fill in the same Live Window. If both are missing, the Hold Rolls. It does not cancel. It does not come back as cash.

A Partner who sells 500 HAND leaves 10 HAND bound. Closed HAND appears only when the other side of that window also trades and the Gate has passed. Otherwise the 10 HAND wait in the next window, still bound.

Window Share, the Gate Rule, and the 6,000,000 HAND issue is sealed at construction. No admin key relocates a Partner's HAND, halt the Pair Book, or mint Closed HAND back into issue.

The title inverts here: both sides, or the Hold continues. Bound until both.