diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/enums.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/enums.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e4cfac36d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/enums.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
+//! `#[coded_enum]`: an enum of wire codes, and the `ALL`/`code`/`from_code` set
+//! that must not fall behind its variants.
+//!
+//! Rust cannot enumerate an enum's variants — an exhaustive `match` forces an arm per
+//! variant but gives nothing to iterate — so `ALL` is trustworthy only by being
+//! generated from them, as `HostFunctionSpec::ALL` is from the `host_functions!` block.
+
+use proc_macro2::TokenStream;
+use quote::quote;
+use syn::{Expr, ExprLit, ExprUnary, Fields, Ident, ItemEnum, Lit, UnOp, Variant};
+
+use crate::errors;
+
+/// One variant as the expansion reads it: the name `ALL` lists and the code
+/// `from_code` matches.
+struct WireVariant<'a> {
+    ident: &'a Ident,
+    code: &'a Expr,
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn expand(args: TokenStream, item: TokenStream) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
+    if !args.is_empty() {
+        return Err(syn::Error::new_spanned(
+            args,
+            "`#[coded_enum]` takes no arguments",
+        ));
+    }
+
+    let item: ItemEnum = syn::parse2(item)?;
+    let variants = wire_variants(&item)?;
+
+    let attrs = &item.attrs;
+    let vis = &item.vis;
+    let name = &item.ident;
+    let declarations = item.variants.iter();
+    let identifiers = variants.iter().map(|variant| variant.ident);
+    let arms = variants.iter().map(|variant| {
+        let (ident, code) = (variant.ident, variant.code);
+        quote! { #code => Some(Self::#ident) }
+    });
+
+    Ok(quote! {
+        #(#attrs)*
+        #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+        #[repr(i32)]
+        #vis enum #name {
+            #(#declarations,)*
+        }
+
+        impl #name {
+            /// Every variant, in declaration order — the whole set, and whole by
+            /// construction.
+            pub const ALL: &'static [Self] = &[#(Self::#identifiers,)*];
+
+            /// The wire value that names this variant.
+            #[inline]
+            pub const fn code(self) -> i32 {
+                self as i32
+            }
+
+            /// The variant `code` names, or `None` if no variant does — what an
+            /// unnamed code means is the caller's to decide.
+            pub const fn from_code(code: i32) -> Option<Self> {
+                match code {
+                    #(#arms,)*
+                    _ => None,
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+/// Every variant, checked against what the expansion needs of it, or every
+/// mistake in the list.
+fn wire_variants(item: &ItemEnum) -> syn::Result<Vec<WireVariant<'_>>> {
+    // `#[repr(i32)]` is rejected on a variantless enum, and there is nothing for a
+    // wire enum with no codes to mean anyway.
+    if item.variants.is_empty() {
+        return Err(syn::Error::new_spanned(
+            item,
+            "`#[coded_enum]` needs at least one variant",
+        ));
+    }
+
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    let variants = item
+        .variants
+        .iter()
+        .filter_map(|variant| {
+            let code = errors::record(code_of(variant), &mut errors)?;
+            Some(WireVariant {
+                ident: &variant.ident,
+                code,
+            })
+        })
+        .collect();
+
+    errors::into_result(variants, errors)
+}
+
+/// The code a variant is declared with.
+fn code_of(variant: &Variant) -> syn::Result<&Expr> {
+    if !matches!(variant.fields, Fields::Unit) {
+        return Err(syn::Error::new_spanned(
+            &variant.fields,
+            "a wire enum's variants carry no data: the code is the whole of what crosses",
+        ));
+    }
+
+    let Some((_, code)) = &variant.discriminant else {
+        return Err(syn::Error::new_spanned(
+            variant,
+            "missing `= <code>`: a wire value is declared, never implied by position",
+        ));
+    };
+
+    if !is_integer_literal(code) {
+        return Err(syn::Error::new_spanned(
+            code,
+            "a wire value must be an integer literal, since `from_code` matches it as a pattern",
+        ));
+    }
+
+    Ok(code)
+}
+
+/// `-2147483648` and `7`, but not `i32::MIN` or `1 + 1`: the discriminant is emitted
+/// into pattern position unchanged, where an expression means something else or nothing.
+fn is_integer_literal(code: &Expr) -> bool {
+    match code {
+        Expr::Lit(ExprLit {
+            lit: Lit::Int(_), ..
+        }) => true,
+        Expr::Unary(ExprUnary {
+            op: UnOp::Neg(_),
+            expr,
+            ..
+        }) => is_integer_literal(expr),
+        _ => false,
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+#[cfg_attr(coverage_nightly, coverage(off))]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    /// The whole expansion for the smallest list that exercises every generated
+    /// item, negative codes included.
+    #[test]
+    fn generates_the_enum_and_the_three_items_over_it() {
+        let generated = generated(quote! {
+            /// How a trace buffer is read.
+            pub enum TraceDataType {
+                /// Eight little-endian bytes.
+                Int64 = 1,
+                Unnamed = -2,
+            }
+        });
+
+        for expected in [
+            // The declaration reaches the output as written, doc comments and all,
+            // under the derives and the representation `code` casts through.
+            "# [doc = r\" How a trace buffer is read.\"] \
+             # [derive (Debug , Clone , Copy , PartialEq , Eq)] # [repr (i32)] \
+             pub enum TraceDataType { # [doc = r\" Eight little-endian bytes.\"] Int64 = 1 , \
+             Unnamed = - 2 , }",
+            "pub const ALL : & 'static [Self] = & [Self :: Int64 , Self :: Unnamed ,] ;",
+            "pub const fn code (self) -> i32 { self as i32 }",
+            "pub const fn from_code (code : i32) -> Option < Self > \
+             { match code { 1 => Some (Self :: Int64) , - 2 => Some (Self :: Unnamed) , \
+             _ => None , } }",
+        ] {
+            assert!(generated.contains(expected), "missing {expected:?}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The visibility is the caller's: a `pub` the macro supplied would be one the
+    /// declaration could not take back.
+    #[test]
+    fn keeps_the_declared_visibility() {
+        assert!(
+            generated(quote! {
+                enum Private {
+                    One = 1,
+                }
+            })
+            .contains("enum Private"),
+            "the expansion should not widen a private enum"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// A variant with no code would take one from its position, which is the
+    /// mistake that silently renumbers a wire value.
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_a_variant_without_a_code() {
+        let messages = messages(quote! {
+            pub enum Ordering {
+                Equal = 0,
+                Greater,
+            }
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(messages.len(), 1, "{messages:?}");
+        assert!(messages[0].contains("missing `= <code>`"), "{messages:?}");
+    }
+
+    /// The two shapes a code is tempting to write as and cannot be: a constant's
+    /// path, and arithmetic.
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_a_code_that_is_not_an_integer_literal() {
+        let messages = messages(quote! {
+            pub enum Ordering {
+                Equal = i32::MIN,
+                Greater = 1 + 1,
+            }
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(messages.len(), 2, "{messages:?}");
+        for message in &messages {
+            assert!(message.contains("must be an integer literal"), "{message}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_a_variant_carrying_data() {
+        let messages = messages(quote! {
+            pub enum Ordering {
+                Equal(u8) = 0,
+            }
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(messages.len(), 1, "{messages:?}");
+        assert!(messages[0].contains("carry no data"), "{messages:?}");
+    }
+
+    /// `#[repr(i32)]` is rejected on a variantless enum, so the diagnostic has to
+    /// be this one rather than rustc's.
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_an_enum_with_no_variants() {
+        let messages = messages(quote! {
+            pub enum Nothing {}
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(messages.len(), 1, "{messages:?}");
+        assert!(messages[0].contains("at least one variant"), "{messages:?}");
+    }
+
+    /// Every mistake in one build, as `host_functions!` reports a block.
+    #[test]
+    fn reports_every_mistake_in_the_list() {
+        let messages = messages(quote! {
+            pub enum Ordering {
+                Equal,
+                Greater = 1 + 1,
+            }
+        });
+
+        assert_eq!(messages.len(), 2, "{messages:?}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_arguments() {
+        let error = expand(quote!(i64), quote! { pub enum Ordering { Equal = 0, } })
+            .expect_err("expected the argument to be refused");
+
+        assert!(error.to_string().contains("takes no arguments"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_an_item_that_is_not_an_enum() {
+        expand(quote!(), quote! { pub struct Ordering; })
+            .expect_err("expected a struct to be refused");
+    }
+
+    fn generated(item: TokenStream) -> String {
+        expand(quote!(), item)
+            .expect("the enum should expand")
+            .to_string()
+    }
+
+    /// The messages of every diagnostic recorded by one failed `expand`.
+    fn messages(item: TokenStream) -> Vec<String> {
+        let Err(error) = expand(quote!(), item) else {
+            panic!("expected expansion to fail");
+        };
+        error.into_iter().map(|error| error.to_string()).collect()
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lib.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lib.rs
index ccd674cccc..1ddabc68c6 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #![cfg_attr(coverage_nightly, feature(coverage_attribute))]
 
+mod enums;
 mod errors;
 mod glue;
 mod lowering;
@@ -115,9 +116,9 @@ use parsed_host_function::ParsedHostFunction;
 /// generics: it maps to exactly one wasm import signature. Its parameters must be
 /// `i32`, `i64`, `u32`, `&[u8]`, `&mut [u8]`, `&str` or `TraceDataType`, and it
 /// must return `HostResult<usize>` if it writes an output region,
-/// `HostResult<i32>` if it answers a value directly, or `HostResult<()>` if it
-/// answers nothing. Two declarations may not share a `wasm_name`, nor collapse to
-/// the same PascalCase variant.
+/// `HostResult<i32>` or `HostResult<FloatOrdering>` if it answers a value directly,
+/// or `HostResult<()>` if it answers nothing. Two declarations may not share a
+/// `wasm_name`, nor collapse to the same PascalCase variant.
 #[proc_macro]
 pub fn host_functions(input: proc_macro::TokenStream) -> proc_macro::TokenStream {
     expand(input.into())
@@ -125,6 +126,48 @@ pub fn host_functions(input: proc_macro::TokenStream) -> proc_macro::TokenStream
         .into()
 }
 
+/// Declares an enum of wire codes, together with the `ALL`, `code` and
+/// `from_code` set that must not fall behind its variants.
+///
+/// The enum is written as an ordinary one — its own doc comment, its own
+/// visibility, one `Variant = code,` per line — and the attribute supplies the
+/// derives and the `#[repr(i32)]` that `code` casts through. Rust cannot enumerate
+/// an enum's variants, so `ALL` is the only complete set a test can iterate.
+///
+/// A variant carries no data and states its code as an integer literal, since that
+/// literal is also the pattern `from_code` matches it by. What an unnamed code means
+/// is the caller's to decide, being a different condition per enum.
+///
+/// ```
+/// use xrpl_host_functions_macros::coded_enum;
+///
+/// /// How a trace buffer is to be read.
+/// #[coded_enum]
+/// pub enum TraceDataType {
+///     /// 8 little-endian bytes, rendered as a signed decimal.
+///     Int64 = 1,
+///     /// A 20-byte account ID, rendered as base58.
+///     Account = 4,
+/// }
+///
+/// assert_eq!(TraceDataType::Account.code(), 4);
+/// assert_eq!(TraceDataType::from_code(4), Some(TraceDataType::Account));
+/// assert_eq!(TraceDataType::from_code(2), None);
+/// assert_eq!(
+///     TraceDataType::ALL,
+///     &[TraceDataType::Int64, TraceDataType::Account],
+/// );
+/// ```
+#[proc_macro_attribute]
+pub fn coded_enum(
+    args: proc_macro::TokenStream,
+    item: proc_macro::TokenStream,
+) -> proc_macro::TokenStream {
+    enums::expand(args.into(), item.into())
+        .unwrap_or_else(syn::Error::into_compile_error)
+        .into()
+}
+
 fn expand(input: TokenStream) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     let functions = parse_block(input)?;
     let abi = abi_items(&functions);
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lowering.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lowering.rs
index d6bcfa70fe..c89577c780 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lowering.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-host-functions-macros/src/lowering.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 //!   little-endian bytes, which is how the guest SDK passes a sequence number.
 //! - **`usize` and `i32` results are the same on the wire and not
 //!   interchangeable**: the first is the length of what was written to an output
-//!   region, the second the answer itself.
+//!   region, the second the answer itself — as is `FloatOrdering`, a third spelling.
 //!
 //! Matching is on types as they are spelled — a proc macro resolves nothing, so
 //! `type Bytes = u32; … x: Bytes` is unrecognizable — but on a path's last
@@ -54,7 +54,9 @@ pub(crate) enum ResultType {
     /// the engine turns into the wire's `i32` or into `BufferTooSmall` /
     /// `DataFieldTooLarge`. Never itself the wire type.
     BufferLength,
-    /// `i32`: the answer, from a function that writes no region.
+    /// `i32` or `FloatOrdering`: the answer, from a function that writes no region.
+    /// One variant for both — one wire result, and the declared type still reaches the
+    /// trait verbatim.
     Value,
     /// `()`: no wasm result at all — the call's whole effect is on the host, and
     /// an `Err` reaches the guest in no form.
@@ -182,8 +184,9 @@ impl ResultType {
     /// refuses it against its own span.
     pub(crate) fn parse(success: &Type) -> syn::Result<Self> {
         const ALLOWED: &str = "a host function must return `HostResult<usize>` for a value it \
-                               writes to an output region, `HostResult<i32>` for one it answers \
-                               directly, or `HostResult<()>` for none at all";
+                               writes to an output region, `HostResult<i32>` or \
+                               `HostResult<FloatOrdering>` for one it answers directly, or \
+                               `HostResult<()>` for none at all";
 
         if let Type::Tuple(tuple) = success
             && tuple.elems.is_empty()
@@ -193,7 +196,7 @@ impl ResultType {
 
         match last_path_segment(success) {
             Some(name) if name == "usize" => Ok(Self::BufferLength),
-            Some(name) if name == "i32" => Ok(Self::Value),
+            Some(name) if name == "i32" || name == "FloatOrdering" => Ok(Self::Value),
             _ => Err(syn::Error::new_spanned(success, ALLOWED)),
         }
     }
@@ -395,13 +398,14 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
-    /// The three success types, and the wasm result each becomes. `usize` and
-    /// `i32` agree on the wire and are separate rows.
+    /// The declared success types, and the wasm result each becomes. `usize` and `i32`
+    /// agree on the wire and are separate rows; `FloatOrdering` shares `i32`'s.
     #[test]
     fn lowers_every_success_type() {
-        let mapping: [(Type, ResultType, Option<WasmValType>); 3] = [
+        let mapping: [(Type, ResultType, Option<WasmValType>); 4] = [
             (parse_quote!(usize), ResultType::BufferLength, Some(I32)),
             (parse_quote!(i32), ResultType::Value, Some(I32)),
+            (parse_quote!(FloatOrdering), ResultType::Value, Some(I32)),
             (parse_quote!(()), ResultType::Nothing, None),
         ];
 
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/lib.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/lib.rs
index 2861e3821e..64734de519 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/lib.rs
@@ -5,28 +5,25 @@
 //! wasm engine registers from.
 //!
 //! The split: hand-written here is the vocabulary the declarations are written in —
-//! [`HostError`], [`TraceDataType`], [`HostResult`], [`HASH_LEN`] — and everything
-//! derived from the declarations is generated. The expansion names nothing this file
-//! does not, so the two sides meet only in the block below.
+//! [`HostError`], [`TraceDataType`], [`FloatOrdering`], [`HostResult`], [`HASH_LEN`] —
+//! and everything derived from the declarations is generated. The expansion names
+//! nothing this file does not, so the two sides meet only in the block below.
 //!
 //! Three items cross that split the other way, named by the expansion but by no
 //! declaration: [`WasmValType`], which the derived wasm signatures are spelled in,
 //! and `FromWasmRegion`/`FromWasmScalar`, which `wasmi_glue!` builds a marshalled
 //! argument through.
-//!
-//! So this file is lists — error codes, trace data types, functions. The `macro_rules!`
-//! that expand the first two into enums live in `macros.rs`.
 
 #![no_std]
 #![cfg_attr(coverage_nightly, feature(coverage_attribute))]
 
-#[macro_use]
-mod macros;
-
 // Not re-exported: the ABI is declared once, here, and this is the only call site.
-use xrpl_host_functions_macros::host_functions;
+use xrpl_host_functions_macros::{coded_enum, host_functions};
 
-host_errors! {
+/// Error codes a host function may return. Every code is negative, which is what lets
+/// a failure and an answer share one `i32` on the wire.
+#[coded_enum]
+pub enum HostError {
     Unimplemented = -1,
     FieldNotFound = -2,
     BufferTooSmall = -3,
@@ -58,7 +55,12 @@ pub type HostResult<T> = Result<T, HostError>;
 /// A `sha512Half` digest: the first 32 bytes of a SHA-512, as XRPL uses it.
 pub const HASH_LEN: usize = 32;
 
-trace_data_types! {
+/// How [`HostFunctions::trace`] is to read its data buffer. Wire values shared with the
+/// guest stdlib: append only, never renumber, and starting at 1 so a zeroed argument
+/// names no type. `xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi` holds the second declaration, the one C++ compiles
+/// against — this crate links into the guest too, so it cannot depend on `cxx`.
+#[coded_enum]
+pub enum TraceDataType {
     /// 8 little-endian bytes, rendered as a signed decimal.
     Int64 = 1,
     /// 8 little-endian bytes, rendered as an unsigned decimal.
@@ -75,6 +77,17 @@ trace_data_types! {
     AsText = 7,
 }
 
+/// The verdict [`HostFunctions::float_compare`] answers, read as the placing of `x`
+/// against `y`. **Not C's `memcmp` convention**: the wire's negative range belongs to
+/// [`HostError`], so every code here is non-negative — append only, never renumber.
+/// `WasmCommon.h` holds the second declaration, as [`TraceDataType`] has one.
+#[coded_enum]
+pub enum FloatOrdering {
+    Equal = 0,
+    Greater = 1,
+    Less = 2,
+}
+
 /// The wasm module name a guest imports these functions under:
 /// `(import "host_lib" "ldgr_index" …)`.
 pub const HOST_MODULE: &str = "host_lib";
@@ -121,7 +134,8 @@ pub trait FromWasmScalar {
 // marshalled.** `&[u8]`/`&str` and `&mut [u8]` are `(ptr, len)` pairs, `TraceDataType`
 // is an `i32` code the engine names before a host sees it, and **`u32` is four
 // little-endian bytes in a region**, not a scalar, which is how the guest SDK passes a
-// sequence number.
+// sequence number. A result is `usize` for the length of what was written to an output
+// region, `i32` or `FloatOrdering` for the answer itself, or `()` for none.
 host_functions! {
     /// The sequence number of the ledger being built, as 4 little-endian bytes.
     #[gas = 60]
@@ -539,11 +553,11 @@ host_functions! {
         mode: i32,
     ) -> HostResult<usize>;
 
-    /// Compares floats `x` and `y`, returning a negative, zero, or positive scalar as
-    /// `x` is less than, equal to, or greater than `y`.
+    /// Compares floats `x` and `y`, answering the [`FloatOrdering`] that places `x`
+    /// against `y`. Reaches the guest as that variant's code, **not `memcmp`'s sign**.
     #[gas = 80]
     #[wasm_name = "float_cmp"]
-    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<i32>;
+    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<FloatOrdering>;
 
     /// The float sum `x + y` under rounding `mode`.
     #[gas = 160]
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/macros.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/macros.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index b077526784..0000000000
--- a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/src/macros.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,102 +0,0 @@
-//! The `macro_rules!` behind the two hand-listed enums, [`crate::HostError`] and
-//! [`crate::TraceDataType`].
-//!
-//! Each takes one list of `Variant = code,` and expands the enum together with the
-//! `ALL`/`code`/`from_code` set that must not fall behind it. The lists themselves stay
-//! in `lib.rs`, beside the `host_functions!` block.
-
-/// Declares [`crate::HostError`] from one list: the variants, `HostError::ALL` and
-/// `HostError::from_code`'s table all expand from the codes given.
-///
-/// One list is what makes `ALL` complete. Rust cannot enumerate an enum's
-/// variants — an exhaustive `match` forces an arm per variant but gives nothing to
-/// iterate — so a hand-written `ALL` beside a hand-written enum could only be kept
-/// in step by review, and `ALL`'s whole purpose is to be the set a test can trust.
-/// A code added to the list gains its `ALL` entry and its `from_code` arm by
-/// construction. `HostFunctionSpec::ALL` is complete the same way, from the
-/// `host_functions!` block.
-macro_rules! host_errors {
-    ($($(#[$doc:meta])* $variant:ident = $code:literal,)+) => {
-        /// Error codes a host function may return.
-        ///
-        #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
-        #[repr(i32)]
-        pub enum HostError {
-            $($(#[$doc])* $variant = $code,)+
-        }
-
-        impl HostError {
-            /// Every error a host function may return, in code order.
-            ///
-            /// The complete set, and complete by construction: a wasm engine's
-            /// split between the codes it hands the guest and the conditions it
-            /// traps on is a decision per variant, so the test that checks the
-            /// split iterates this and a code added to the ABI cannot slip past it.
-            pub const ALL: &'static [HostError] = &[$(HostError::$variant,)+];
-
-            /// The negative wire value a failed call returns. Every code but
-            /// `InternalFatal` is one a guest reads off that value.
-            #[inline]
-            pub const fn code(self) -> i32 {
-                self as i32
-            }
-
-            /// Reconstruct a `HostError` from its wire code.
-            ///
-            /// A code this ABI does not define is `InternalFatal`: an answer the
-            /// caller cannot act on is the call not having been served, and that is
-            /// the variant which says so. Positive values are not errors at all and go
-            /// the same way, since this is reached only once a negative return has
-            /// been read as a failure.
-            pub const fn from_code(code: i32) -> HostError {
-                match code {
-                    $($code => HostError::$variant,)+
-                    _ => HostError::InternalFatal,
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    };
-}
-
-/// Declares [`crate::TraceDataType`] from one list, so `TraceDataType::ALL`,
-/// `TraceDataType::code` and `TraceDataType::from_code` cannot fall behind the
-/// variants — the reason `host_errors!` above is written this way.
-macro_rules! trace_data_types {
-    ($($(#[$doc:meta])* $variant:ident = $code:literal,)+) => {
-        /// How [`HostFunctions::trace`] is to read its data buffer.
-        ///
-        /// The discriminants are wire values shared with the guest stdlib: append only,
-        /// never renumber. They start at 1, so a zeroed argument names no type rather
-        /// than the first one.
-        ///
-        /// This is the declaration a guest and a host both compile against. The host
-        /// side needs a second one — `cxx` cannot be a dependency here, since this
-        /// crate also links into the guest — so `xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi` declares a shared
-        /// enum for C++ and converts, exhaustively, from this.
-        #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
-        #[repr(i32)]
-        pub enum TraceDataType {
-            $($(#[$doc])* $variant = $code,)+
-        }
-
-        impl TraceDataType {
-            /// Every data type a guest may name, in code order.
-            pub const ALL: &'static [TraceDataType] = &[$(TraceDataType::$variant,)+];
-
-            /// The wire value a guest passes to name this type.
-            #[inline]
-            pub const fn code(self) -> i32 {
-                self as i32
-            }
-
-            /// The type `code` names, or `None`: the engine drops a call it cannot
-            /// read rather than guessing at a rendering the guest did not ask for.
-            pub const fn from_code(code: i32) -> Option<TraceDataType> {
-                match code {
-                    $($code => Some(TraceDataType::$variant),)+
-                    _ => None,
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    };
-}
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/generated_abi.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/generated_abi.rs
index b782d07741..d6ce38dd06 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/generated_abi.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/generated_abi.rs
@@ -1,14 +1,17 @@
 //! Exercises the API that `host_functions!` generates, not the macro itself:
 //! the `HostFunctions` trait is implementable and callable both directly and
-//! through `&dyn`, and the generated `HostFunctionSpec` and `TraceDataType`
-//! tables agree with the declarations in `src/lib.rs`. The macro's own parsing
-//! and diagnostics are covered by the unit tests in `xrpl-host-functions-macros`.
+//! through `&dyn`, and the generated `HostFunctionSpec` table and the hand-listed
+//! `TraceDataType` / `FloatOrdering` enums agree with the declarations in
+//! `src/lib.rs`. The macro's own parsing and diagnostics are covered by the unit
+//! tests in `xrpl-host-functions-macros`.
 
 use std::cell::RefCell;
+use std::cmp::Ordering;
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 
 use xrpl_host_functions::{
-    HASH_LEN, HostError, HostFunctionSpec, HostFunctions, HostResult, TraceDataType, WasmValType,
+    FloatOrdering, HASH_LEN, HostError, HostFunctionSpec, HostFunctions, HostResult, TraceDataType,
+    WasmValType,
 };
 
 /// Records what it was asked to do; enough to prove the trait is usable.
@@ -558,12 +561,18 @@ impl HostFunctions for FakeHost {
         put(out, &[mantissa as u8])
     }
 
-    /// Reads two floats and returns a scalar; `InvalidParams` if either is empty.
-    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<i32> {
-        if x.is_empty() || y.is_empty() {
+    /// Reads two floats and answers a [`FloatOrdering`]; `InvalidParams` if either is
+    /// empty. First bytes only — what matters is that the verdict is a named variant.
+    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<FloatOrdering> {
+        let (Some(x), Some(y)) = (x.first(), y.first()) else {
             return Err(HostError::InvalidParams);
-        }
-        Ok(i32::from(x[0]) - i32::from(y[0]))
+        };
+
+        Ok(match x.cmp(y) {
+            Ordering::Equal => FloatOrdering::Equal,
+            Ordering::Greater => FloatOrdering::Greater,
+            Ordering::Less => FloatOrdering::Less,
+        })
     }
 
     /// A binary float operator; `InvalidParams` if either operand is empty.
@@ -866,7 +875,14 @@ fn the_trait_is_implementable() {
     let mut exp = [0u8; 4];
     assert_eq!(host.float_to_mant_exp(&[3; 8], &mut mant, &mut exp), Ok(2));
     assert_eq!(host.float_from_mant_exp(5, 0, &mut out, 0), Ok(1));
-    assert_eq!(host.float_compare(&[9; 8], &[4; 8]), Ok(5));
+    assert_eq!(
+        host.float_compare(&[9; 8], &[4; 8]),
+        Ok(FloatOrdering::Greater)
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        host.float_compare(&[4; 8], &[9; 8]),
+        Ok(FloatOrdering::Less)
+    );
     assert_eq!(
         host.float_compare(&[], &[4; 8]),
         Err(HostError::InvalidParams)
@@ -1141,6 +1157,41 @@ fn an_unnamed_trace_data_type_code_is_refused() {
     }
 }
 
+/// `float_cmp`'s verdicts are what a guest branches on, so they are pinned as literals
+/// here; `ALL` is in code order, so the round trip pins the discriminants too. Zero is
+/// `Equal`, not reserved as in [`TraceDataType`]: a comparison always has an answer.
+#[test]
+fn every_float_ordering_survives_the_wire() {
+    let codes: Vec<i32> = FloatOrdering::ALL.iter().map(|o| o.code()).collect();
+
+    assert_eq!(codes, [0, 1, 2]);
+    for &ordering in FloatOrdering::ALL {
+        assert_eq!(FloatOrdering::from_code(ordering.code()), Some(ordering));
+    }
+}
+
+/// **The property that keeps a verdict from being read as a failure.** A verdict and an
+/// error code share one `i32`, split by sign, so no ordering may be negative however the
+/// enum is extended — `Less` is `2`, not `memcmp`'s `-1`, which is `Unimplemented`.
+#[test]
+fn no_float_ordering_collides_with_an_error_code() {
+    for &ordering in FloatOrdering::ALL {
+        assert!(ordering.code() >= 0, "{ordering:?} is negative");
+    }
+
+    assert_eq!(HostError::from_code(-1), Some(HostError::Unimplemented));
+    assert_eq!(FloatOrdering::from_code(-1), None);
+}
+
+/// A value no variant names is refused rather than rounded to a neighbouring verdict: a
+/// total order has exactly three outcomes, and the negative codes are `HostError`'s.
+#[test]
+fn an_unnamed_float_ordering_code_is_refused() {
+    for code in [-1, 3, 5, i32::MAX, i32::MIN] {
+        assert_eq!(FloatOrdering::from_code(code), None, "code {code}");
+    }
+}
+
 /// `ALL` is what a wasm engine iterates to register imports, so no two declarations
 /// may collapse to the same wire name. The table above pins membership and order;
 /// this adds only uniqueness, and restates nothing.
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/host_errors.rs b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/host_errors.rs
index 7e77fcdc56..a9716be501 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/host_errors.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-host-functions/tests/host_errors.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-//! Exercises what `host_errors!` generates: the wire codes, the set
-//! [`HostError::ALL`] names, and the round trip between them.
+//! Exercises what `#[coded_enum]` generates for [`HostError`]: the wire codes, the
+//! set [`HostError::ALL`] names, and the round trip between them.
 //!
 //! The codes are consensus input — they are what a guest reads off a failed host
 //! call — so they are pinned here as literals and derived everywhere else.
@@ -78,25 +78,18 @@ fn every_code_but_the_sentinel_is_in_the_shared_range() {
 #[test]
 fn every_wire_code_round_trips_back_to_its_error() {
     for &error in HostError::ALL {
-        assert_eq!(HostError::from_code(error.code()), error, "{error:?}");
+        assert_eq!(HostError::from_code(error.code()), Some(error), "{error:?}");
     }
 }
 
-/// A code from outside the set is `InternalFatal`: a host answering something this ABI
-/// does not define has not served the call, whatever it meant by it, and success is not
-/// an error at all.
+/// A code from outside the set names no error and is not rounded to a neighbouring one;
+/// what it means instead is the crossing's to decide, in `xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi`'s `host_error`.
 ///
-/// `-21` is the code xrpld would append next, so it is the one that decides whether a
-/// list this crate has not caught up with reaches a guest or stops the run. `i32::MIN +
-/// 1` is next to the sentinel and unassigned, which is what makes the sentinel a value
-/// rather than a range.
+/// `-21` is the code xrpld would append next; `i32::MIN + 1` is next to the sentinel and
+/// unassigned, which is what makes the sentinel a value rather than a range.
 #[test]
-fn a_code_outside_the_set_is_internal_fatal() {
+fn a_code_outside_the_set_names_no_error() {
     for code in [-21, i32::MIN + 1, 0, 1, i32::MAX] {
-        assert_eq!(
-            HostError::from_code(code),
-            HostError::InternalFatal,
-            "{code}"
-        );
+        assert_eq!(HostError::from_code(code), None, "{code}");
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi/src/lib.rs b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi/src/lib.rs
index 25f50cf302..28022be661 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm-ffi/src/lib.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 use std::any::Any;
 use std::panic::{AssertUnwindSafe, catch_unwind};
-use xrpl_host_functions::{HostError, HostFunctions, HostResult, TraceDataType};
+use xrpl_host_functions::{FloatOrdering, HostError, HostFunctions, HostResult, TraceDataType};
 use xrpl_wasm_vm::{CheckError, RunError, RunFailure, RunOutcome, check, run};
 
 /// [`guarded`] must be able to stop an unwind. Under `panic = "abort"` it cannot,
@@ -554,6 +554,15 @@ struct CxxHost<'a> {
     ctx: &'a ffi::HostContext,
 }
 
+/// The error a negative code names, or `InternalFatal`.
+///
+/// **The one place the fallback is decided.** A code outside the ABI is xrpld's
+/// `HostFunctionError` list having outrun this one — the call was not served, whatever
+/// the host meant by it, so the run stops on the one code that says so.
+fn host_error(n: i32) -> HostError {
+    HostError::from_code(n).unwrap_or(HostError::InternalFatal)
+}
+
 /// A byte-producing call's answer: the value's true length, or its error code.
 ///
 /// The conversion *is* the sign test — it fails on exactly the negative values — so
@@ -563,7 +572,7 @@ struct CxxHost<'a> {
 /// involved — `i32`, `Result`, `HostError` — is foreign to this crate, so the orphan
 /// rule forbids the impl.
 fn bytes_written(n: i32) -> HostResult<usize> {
-    usize::try_from(n).map_err(|_| HostError::from_code(n))
+    usize::try_from(n).map_err(|_| host_error(n))
 }
 
 /// The ABI's data type as the shared enum C++ was given a definition of.
@@ -587,11 +596,21 @@ fn crossed(data_type: TraceDataType) -> ffi::TraceDataType {
 /// a non-negative value is that answer, a negative one its error code.
 fn scalar(n: i32) -> HostResult<i32> {
     if n < 0 {
-        return Err(HostError::from_code(n));
+        return Err(host_error(n));
     }
     Ok(n)
 }
 
+/// A call whose answer is a named verdict: [`scalar`]'s split first, then the code must
+/// name a variant.
+///
+/// **This is where the C++ side is held to the ABI.** A code naming no variant is
+/// `WasmCommon.h`'s `FloatOrdering` having drifted from this one — nothing a contract can
+/// act on, hence `InternalFatal` and a stopped run.
+fn float_ordering(n: i32) -> HostResult<FloatOrdering> {
+    FloatOrdering::from_code(scalar(n)?).ok_or(HostError::InternalFatal)
+}
+
 impl HostFunctions for CxxHost<'_> {
     fn get_ledger_sqn(&self, out: &mut [u8]) -> HostResult<usize> {
         bytes_written(self.ctx.get_ledger_sqn(out))
@@ -904,8 +923,8 @@ impl HostFunctions for CxxHost<'_> {
         bytes_written(self.ctx.float_from_mant_exp(mantissa, exponent, mode, out))
     }
 
-    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<i32> {
-        scalar(self.ctx.float_compare(x, y))
+    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<FloatOrdering> {
+        float_ordering(self.ctx.float_compare(x, y))
     }
 
     fn float_add(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8], out: &mut [u8], mode: i32) -> HostResult<usize> {
@@ -1125,6 +1144,70 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(crossed.result, 0, "a failed run returned no value");
     }
 
+    /// Every code a guest can be handed comes back as the error that produced it, not as
+    /// a neighbouring one.
+    #[test]
+    fn every_wire_code_crosses_back_as_its_error() {
+        for &error in HostError::ALL {
+            assert_eq!(host_error(error.code()), error, "{error:?}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// A code from outside the set is `InternalFatal`, the fallback this crate owns.
+    ///
+    /// `-21` is the code xrpld would append next; `i32::MIN + 1` is next to the sentinel
+    /// and unassigned, which is what makes the sentinel a value rather than a range. The
+    /// non-negative codes reach here only once the sign has been read elsewhere.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_code_outside_the_set_is_internal_fatal() {
+        for code in [-21, i32::MIN + 1, 0, 1, i32::MAX] {
+            assert_eq!(host_error(code), HostError::InternalFatal, "{code}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The split every scalar answer crosses on: non-negative is the value, negative is
+    /// the code that names why there is none.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_scalar_splits_its_answer_from_its_error_on_the_sign() {
+        assert_eq!(scalar(0), Ok(0));
+        assert_eq!(scalar(7), Ok(7));
+        assert_eq!(scalar(-19), Err(HostError::FloatInputMalformed));
+    }
+
+    /// `float_cmp`'s three verdicts survive the crossing as themselves.
+    #[test]
+    fn every_verdict_crosses_back_as_itself() {
+        for &ordering in FloatOrdering::ALL {
+            assert_eq!(
+                float_ordering(ordering.code()),
+                Ok(ordering),
+                "{ordering:?}"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// **Where the two `FloatOrdering` declarations are held together**, rather than a
+    /// contract being handed a `3` that matches none of its three branches. `0` is not in
+    /// this set: it is `Equal`, not an absent answer.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_code_naming_no_verdict_is_internal_fatal() {
+        for code in [3, 4, 99, i32::MAX] {
+            assert_eq!(
+                float_ordering(code),
+                Err(HostError::InternalFatal),
+                "code {code}"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// An error still crosses as an error, and does not become the drift sentinel: the
+    /// sign is read before the code is matched against the variants.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_refused_comparison_keeps_its_own_error() {
+        assert_eq!(float_ordering(-19), Err(HostError::FloatInputMalformed));
+        assert_eq!(float_ordering(-1), Err(HostError::Unimplemented));
+    }
+
     /// The `RunError` set as the test *expects* it, not as the conversion reports it:
     /// deriving it from the code under test would make the assertion vacuous.
     fn every_run_error() -> Vec<RunError> {
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/abi.rs b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/abi.rs
index 1b38280422..03142d223e 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/abi.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/abi.rs
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ mod tests {
     use crate::vm::TRANSFER_LIMIT_BYTES;
     use std::cell::Cell;
     use wasmi::StoreLimitsBuilder;
-    use xrpl_host_functions::TraceDataType;
+    use xrpl_host_functions::{FloatOrdering, TraceDataType};
 
     /// `charge_transfer` takes the store data, which has to hold a host.
     struct UncalledHost;
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ mod tests {
         ) -> HostResult<usize> {
             unreachable!("no unit test in this module calls the host")
         }
-        fn float_compare(&self, _x: &[u8], _y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<i32> {
+        fn float_compare(&self, _x: &[u8], _y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<FloatOrdering> {
             unreachable!("no unit test in this module calls the host")
         }
         fn float_add(
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/register.rs b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/register.rs
index 9df719cf77..ee7412dc4f 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/register.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/src/register.rs
@@ -647,7 +647,9 @@ impl HostFunctionBodies for Bodies {
     ) -> CallResult<i32> {
         let memory = guest_memory(caller)?;
         let host = caller.data().host;
-        Ok(host.float_compare(x.read(memory)?, y.read(memory)?)?)
+        // `FloatOrdering`'s codes are non-negative, which is what lets the verdict share
+        // this `i32` with a negative `HostError`.
+        Ok(host.float_compare(x.read(memory)?, y.read(memory)?)?.code())
     }
 
     fn float_add(
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/host_calls.rs b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/host_calls.rs
index b984133a7d..27e6184273 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/host_calls.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/host_calls.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use support::{
     COMPLETED, EMPTY_REGION, FakeHost, ONE_PAGE, Trace, code, failure, import, module, run, status,
     traced,
 };
-use xrpl_host_functions::{HASH_LEN, HostError, TraceDataType};
+use xrpl_host_functions::{FloatOrdering, HASH_LEN, HostError, TraceDataType};
 use xrpl_wasm_vm::RunError;
 
 /// A value the host writes must be readable by the guest at the pointer it gave,
@@ -1038,23 +1038,61 @@ fn float_to_mant_exp_with_a_short_exponent_region_writes_neither() {
     assert_eq!(status(&wat, &host), 0, "neither region should be written");
 }
 
-/// A comparison that reads two float regions and returns a scalar verdict, no output
-/// region involved.
+/// A comparison that reads two float regions and answers with no output region involved:
+/// the host's [`FloatOrdering`] reaches the guest as its code.
 #[test]
 fn float_cmp_reads_both_and_returns_the_verdict() {
-    let host = FakeHost::new().answering_float_compare(Ok(-1));
+    let host = FakeHost::new().answering_float_compare(Ok(FloatOrdering::Less));
 
     let wat = module(
         &[import::FLOAT_CMP, ONE_PAGE],
         "(call $float_cmp (i32.const 0) (i32.const 8) (i32.const 8) (i32.const 8))",
     );
-    assert_eq!(status(&wat, &host), -1, "the comparison verdict");
+    assert_eq!(
+        status(&wat, &host),
+        FloatOrdering::Less.code(),
+        "the comparison verdict"
+    );
     assert_eq!(
         *host.float_compare_asked.borrow(),
         vec![(vec![0u8; 8], vec![0u8; 8])]
     );
 }
 
+/// Every verdict lowers to its own code, so a guest reads the ordering the host named and
+/// not a sibling.
+#[test]
+fn every_float_cmp_verdict_reaches_the_guest_unchanged() {
+    for &verdict in FloatOrdering::ALL {
+        let host = FakeHost::new().answering_float_compare(Ok(verdict));
+
+        let wat = module(
+            &[import::FLOAT_CMP, ONE_PAGE],
+            "(call $float_cmp (i32.const 0) (i32.const 8) (i32.const 8) (i32.const 8))",
+        );
+        assert_eq!(status(&wat, &host), verdict.code(), "{verdict:?}");
+    }
+}
+
+/// The other half of that `i32`: a refused comparison is a negative code, which no verdict
+/// can be mistaken for.
+#[test]
+fn float_cmp_error_reaches_the_guest_as_a_negative_code() {
+    let host = FakeHost::new().answering_float_compare(Err(HostError::FloatInputMalformed));
+
+    let wat = module(
+        &[import::FLOAT_CMP, ONE_PAGE],
+        "(call $float_cmp (i32.const 0) (i32.const 8) (i32.const 8) (i32.const 8))",
+    );
+    let code = status(&wat, &host);
+    assert_eq!(code, HostError::FloatInputMalformed.code());
+    assert_eq!(
+        FloatOrdering::from_code(code),
+        None,
+        "an error code must not read back as a verdict"
+    );
+}
+
 /// A binary operator that reads two float regions and a mode, and writes the result:
 /// both operands and the mode reach the host, tagged by operator.
 #[test]
diff --git a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/support/mod.rs b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/support/mod.rs
index 03e15d1812..ef5bf58abe 100644
--- a/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/support/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/xrpl-wasm-vm/tests/support/mod.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 use std::cell::RefCell;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
-use xrpl_host_functions::{HostError, HostFunctions, HostResult, TraceDataType};
+use xrpl_host_functions::{FloatOrdering, HostError, HostFunctions, HostResult, TraceDataType};
 use xrpl_wasm_vm::{RunFailure, RunOutcome};
 
 /// The entry point every test module exports.
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ pub struct FakeHost {
     /// Every `(mantissa, exponent, mode)` `float_from_mant_exp` was asked for.
     pub float_from_mant_exp_asked: RefCell<Vec<(i64, i32, i32)>>,
     /// What `float_compare` answers, whatever floats it is given.
-    pub float_compare_answer: HostResult<i32>,
+    pub float_compare_answer: HostResult<FloatOrdering>,
     /// Every `(x, y)` `float_compare` was asked for.
     pub float_compare_asked: RefCell<Vec<(Vec<u8>, Vec<u8>)>>,
     /// Every `(x, y, mode)` the four binary float operators were asked for, tagged by
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ impl Default for FakeHost {
             float_mant_exp_answer: (vec![0u8; 8], vec![0u8; 4]),
             float_to_mant_exp_asked: RefCell::new(Vec::new()),
             float_from_mant_exp_asked: RefCell::new(Vec::new()),
-            float_compare_answer: Ok(0),
+            float_compare_answer: Ok(FloatOrdering::Equal),
             float_compare_asked: RefCell::new(Vec::new()),
             float_binary_ops_asked: RefCell::new(Vec::new()),
             float_unary_ops_asked: RefCell::new(Vec::new()),
@@ -890,7 +890,7 @@ impl FakeHost {
         self
     }
 
-    pub fn answering_float_compare(mut self, answer: HostResult<i32>) -> FakeHost {
+    pub fn answering_float_compare(mut self, answer: HostResult<FloatOrdering>) -> FakeHost {
         self.float_compare_answer = answer;
         self
     }
@@ -1444,7 +1444,7 @@ impl HostFunctions for FakeHost {
         self.float_answer.fill(out)
     }
 
-    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<i32> {
+    fn float_compare(&self, x: &[u8], y: &[u8]) -> HostResult<FloatOrdering> {
         self.float_compare_asked
             .borrow_mut()
             .push((x.to_vec(), y.to_vec()));
diff --git a/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFunc.h b/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFunc.h
index fc8133abb7..83a6e50c45 100644
--- a/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFunc.h
+++ b/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFunc.h
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ floatToMantExpImpl(Slice const& x);
 std::expected<Bytes, HostFunctionError>
 floatFromMantExpImpl(int64_t mantissa, int32_t exponent, int32_t mode);
 
-std::expected<int32_t, HostFunctionError>
+std::expected<FloatOrdering, HostFunctionError>
 floatCompareImpl(Slice const& x, Slice const& y);
 
 std::expected<Bytes, HostFunctionError>
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ public:
         return std::unexpected(HostFunctionError::Unimplemented);
     }
 
-    [[nodiscard]] [[nodiscard]] virtual std::expected<int32_t, HostFunctionError>
+    [[nodiscard]] virtual std::expected<FloatOrdering, HostFunctionError>
     floatCompare(Slice const& x, Slice const& y) const
     {
         return std::unexpected(HostFunctionError::Unimplemented);
diff --git a/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImpl.h b/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImpl.h
index d7d999005f..e6cbb20187 100644
--- a/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImpl.h
+++ b/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImpl.h
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ public:
     std::expected<Bytes, HostFunctionError>
     floatFromMantExp(int64_t mantissa, int32_t exponent, int32_t mode) const override;
 
-    std::expected<int32_t, HostFunctionError>
+    std::expected<FloatOrdering, HostFunctionError>
     floatCompare(Slice const& x, Slice const& y) const override;
 
     std::expected<Bytes, HostFunctionError>
diff --git a/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/WasmCommon.h b/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/WasmCommon.h
index 421dd84b29..0dee73853b 100644
--- a/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/WasmCommon.h
+++ b/include/xrpl/tx/wasm/WasmCommon.h
@@ -56,6 +56,16 @@ enum class HostFunctionError : int32_t {
     InternalFatal = std::numeric_limits<int32_t>::min(),
 };
 
+// The verdict `floatCompare` answers, read as the placing of `x` against `y`. Wire values
+// shared with the guest: append only, never renumber, never negative — a verdict and a
+// `HostFunctionError` share one `i32`, split by sign. The second declaration of
+// `xrpl_host_functions::FloatOrdering`, which links into the guest and so cannot use `cxx`.
+enum class FloatOrdering : int32_t {
+    Equal = 0,
+    Greater = 1,
+    Less = 2,
+};
+
 template <typename T>
 struct WasmResult
 {
@@ -160,6 +170,12 @@ hfErrorToInt(HostFunctionError e)
     return static_cast<int32_t>(e);
 }
 
+constexpr int32_t
+floatOrderingToInt(FloatOrdering o)
+{
+    return static_cast<int32_t>(o);
+}
+
 template <class Body>
 std::invoke_result_t<Body>
 guarded(
diff --git a/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostContext.cpp b/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostContext.cpp
index 6e0212c8f3..d301f165d7 100644
--- a/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostContext.cpp
+++ b/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostContext.cpp
@@ -347,7 +347,16 @@ invoke(Functor&& functor)
         return hfErrorToInt(value.error());
     }
 
-    return *value;
+    // `FloatOrdering` is the one answer not already an `i32`, and a scoped enum does not
+    // convert on its own. Its codes are non-negative, so the two returns stay distinct.
+    if constexpr (std::is_enum_v<std::remove_cvref_t<decltype(*value)>>)
+    {
+        return static_cast<std::int32_t>(*value);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        return *value;
+    }
 }
 
 // A traced integer, which the guest sends as bytes rather than as a wasm scalar so that one
diff --git a/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImplFloat.cpp b/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImplFloat.cpp
index 4ec93eb2d9..cde9187d16 100644
--- a/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImplFloat.cpp
+++ b/src/libxrpl/tx/wasm/HostFuncImplFloat.cpp
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ floatFromMantExpImpl(int64_t mantissa, int32_t exponent, int32_t mode)
     }
 }
 
-std::expected<int32_t, HostFunctionError>
+std::expected<FloatOrdering, HostFunctionError>
 floatCompareImpl(Slice const& x, Slice const& y)
 {
     try
@@ -271,10 +271,10 @@ floatCompareImpl(Slice const& x, Slice const& y)
         if (!yy)
             return std::unexpected(HostFunctionError::FloatInputMalformed);
         if (*xx < *yy)
-            return 2;
+            return FloatOrdering::Less;
         if (*xx == *yy)
-            return 0;
-        return 1;
+            return FloatOrdering::Equal;
+        return FloatOrdering::Greater;
     }
     // LCOV_EXCL_START
     catch (...)
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ WasmHostFunctionsImpl::floatFromMantExp(int64_t mantissa, int32_t exponent, int3
     return wasm_float::floatFromMantExpImpl(mantissa, exponent, mode);
 }
 
-std::expected<int32_t, HostFunctionError>
+std::expected<FloatOrdering, HostFunctionError>
 WasmHostFunctionsImpl::floatCompare(Slice const& x, Slice const& y) const
 {
     return wasm_float::floatCompareImpl(x, y);
diff --git a/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/fixtures/MockHostFunctions.h b/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/fixtures/MockHostFunctions.h
index 024713d1f7..f44f6dd60e 100644
--- a/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/fixtures/MockHostFunctions.h
+++ b/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/fixtures/MockHostFunctions.h
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ struct MockHostFunctions : HostFunctions
         (const, override));
 
     MOCK_METHOD(
-        (std::expected<std::int32_t, HostFunctionError>),
+        (std::expected<FloatOrdering, HostFunctionError>),
         floatCompare,
         (Slice const& x, Slice const& y),
         (const, override));
diff --git a/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_context/FloatCompare.cpp b/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_context/FloatCompare.cpp
index 381dc58e6f..3912ded7e0 100644
--- a/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_context/FloatCompare.cpp
+++ b/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_context/FloatCompare.cpp
@@ -24,9 +24,24 @@ struct FloatCompareCall : HostContextTest
 TEST_F(FloatCompareCall, XAndYAreForwardedResultReturnedDirectly)
 {
     EXPECT_CALL(host, floatCompare(BytesAre("cmp-x"), BytesAre("cmp-yy")))
-        .WillOnce(testing::Return(1));
+        .WillOnce(testing::Return(FloatOrdering::Greater));
 
-    EXPECT_EQ(hostContext.floatCompare(bytesOf(x), bytesOf(y)), 1);
+    EXPECT_EQ(
+        hostContext.floatCompare(bytesOf(x), bytesOf(y)),
+        floatOrderingToInt(FloatOrdering::Greater));
+}
+
+// This layer is where `FloatOrdering` stops being a type and becomes the `i32` a contract
+// reads. Every variant, so a mis-lowered one cannot hide behind a sibling.
+TEST_F(FloatCompareCall, EveryVerdictIsLoweredToItsWireCode)
+{
+    for (auto const verdict : {FloatOrdering::Equal, FloatOrdering::Greater, FloatOrdering::Less})
+    {
+        EXPECT_CALL(host, floatCompare(BytesAre("cmp-x"), BytesAre("cmp-yy")))
+            .WillOnce(testing::Return(verdict));
+
+        EXPECT_EQ(hostContext.floatCompare(bytesOf(x), bytesOf(y)), floatOrderingToInt(verdict));
+    }
 }
 
 TEST_F(FloatCompareCall, HostErrorBecomesContractReturnValue)
@@ -56,9 +71,12 @@ TEST_F(FloatCompareCall, HostExceptionBecomesInternalFatalAndIsLogged)
 TEST_F(FloatCompareCall, OddSizedOperandReachesHostUnchanged)
 {
     Bytes const oddX{0x2a};
-    EXPECT_CALL(host, floatCompare(testing::_, BytesAre("cmp-yy"))).WillOnce(testing::Return(0));
+    EXPECT_CALL(host, floatCompare(testing::_, BytesAre("cmp-yy")))
+        .WillOnce(testing::Return(FloatOrdering::Equal));
 
-    EXPECT_EQ(hostContext.floatCompare(bytesOf(oddX), bytesOf(y)), 0);
+    EXPECT_EQ(
+        hostContext.floatCompare(bytesOf(oddX), bytesOf(y)),
+        floatOrderingToInt(FloatOrdering::Equal));
 }
 
 }  // namespace xrpl::test
diff --git a/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_functions/FloatCompare.cpp b/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_functions/FloatCompare.cpp
index 21acd3f915..916e0bb4cb 100644
--- a/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_functions/FloatCompare.cpp
+++ b/src/tests/libxrpl/tx/wasm/host_functions/FloatCompare.cpp
@@ -23,17 +23,40 @@ TEST_F(FloatCompareImpl, MalformedInputs)
 
 TEST_F(FloatCompareImpl, Less)
 {
-    expectValue(makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(FloatTest::kIntMin), slice(FloatTest::kIntZero)), 2);
+    expectValue(
+        makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(FloatTest::kIntMin), slice(FloatTest::kIntZero)),
+        FloatOrdering::Less);
 }
 
 TEST_F(FloatCompareImpl, Greater)
 {
-    expectValue(makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(FloatTest::kIntMax), slice(FloatTest::kIntZero)), 1);
+    expectValue(
+        makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(FloatTest::kIntMax), slice(FloatTest::kIntZero)),
+        FloatOrdering::Greater);
 }
 
 TEST_F(FloatCompareImpl, Equal)
 {
-    expectValue(makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(FloatTest::kOne), slice(FloatTest::kOne)), 0);
+    expectValue(
+        makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(FloatTest::kOne), slice(FloatTest::kOne)),
+        FloatOrdering::Equal);
+}
+
+// The wire codes a contract branches on, pinned as literals because that is what the guest
+// compiles against — `FloatOrdering` is declared twice, so each side pins its own numbers
+// as `HostFunctionError` already does. Non-negativity is the invariant, not an accident of
+// the numbering: `Less` is `2`, not `memcmp`'s `-1`, which is `Unimplemented`.
+TEST_F(FloatCompareImpl, VerdictCodesAreTheOnesTheGuestReads)
+{
+    EXPECT_EQ(floatOrderingToInt(FloatOrdering::Equal), 0);
+    EXPECT_EQ(floatOrderingToInt(FloatOrdering::Greater), 1);
+    EXPECT_EQ(floatOrderingToInt(FloatOrdering::Less), 2);
+
+    for (auto const verdict : {FloatOrdering::Equal, FloatOrdering::Greater, FloatOrdering::Less})
+    {
+        EXPECT_GE(floatOrderingToInt(verdict), 0);
+        EXPECT_NE(floatOrderingToInt(verdict), hfErrorToInt(HostFunctionError::Unimplemented));
+    }
 }
 
 // A non-canonical encoding of 10 (mantissa 100000, exponent -4) is normalized on decode, so
@@ -42,7 +65,9 @@ TEST_F(FloatCompareImpl, NonCanonicalNormalizes)
 {
     Bytes const nonCanonicalTen{
         0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x86, 0xA0, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC};
-    expectValue(makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(nonCanonicalTen), slice(FloatTest::kTen)), 0);
+    expectValue(
+        makeHost()->floatCompare(slice(nonCanonicalTen), slice(FloatTest::kTen)),
+        FloatOrdering::Equal);
 }
 
 }  // namespace xrpl::test