> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kuru.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# WTF is a CLOB?

> Beginner's guide to central-limit order books. 

A **Central Limit Order Book (CLOB)** is the mechanism that matches buyers and sellers in a market. Instead of negotiating directly, traders place limit orders into the book: instructions to buy or sell a specific quantity of an asset at a given price.

The order book keeps these orders organized using **price-time priority**: the best prices are shown first, and when multiple orders exist at the same price, the earliest order takes precedence.

In practice, this creates two sides of the market: **bids** (buy orders) and **asks** (sell orders). The highest bid is called the *best bid*, and the lowest ask is the *best ask*. When these overlap, trades are executed automatically, ensuring fair and efficient price discovery. Market orders, which are trades without a specified price like a limit order, are filled against the best available orders on the book.

On Kuru, this entire process happens **fully on-chain**. That means all orders, updates, and trades are transparent, verifiable, and permissionless—anyone can participate, and the market cannot be altered or manipulated off-chain. Unlike AMMs, which pool liquidity and use formulas to set prices, a CLOB reflects the live intent of market participants, creating a trading experience closer to traditional exchanges but with the guarantees of blockchain.

For a beginner-friendly walkthrough with an apples and markets analogy, see our [WTF is a CLOB](https://blog.kuru.io/p/wtf-is-a-clob) blog.