DeFi protocol Drift has launched a prediction market known as BET on the Solana blockchain, in accordance to an Aug. 19 statement.
Drift Protocol co-founder Cindy Leow likened BET’s prediction market to perpetual buying and selling. She defined that, simply as perpetual merchants guess on potential worth modifications in crypto, prediction markets enable for monetary stakes within the outcomes of real-world occasions.
She stated:
“Taking real events into permissionless financialization opens up the door to bet on everything from making a hyperlocalized bet with a few friends to trying to predict the outcome of a US presidential election.”
BET options
BET operates equally to Polymarket, permitting customers to buy YES or NO shares on an occasion just like the upcoming US presidential election.
Nonetheless, the Solana-based platform stands out by permitting customers to use over 30 cryptos — together with USDC and SOL, amongst others — as collateral. Customers additionally earn a yield on their belongings earlier than the occasion’s consequence is decided.
Moreover, BET offers customers the flexibility to hedge their predictions with “structured bets.” This characteristic permits them to take an extended place within the prediction market whereas shorting Bitcoin. The platform additionally incorporates a rewards system known as FUEL, which is designed to increase buying and selling exercise and incentivize person engagement.
Whereas BET is initially targeted on the US elections, plans are underway to develop into different areas, akin to System 1 and different crypto and cultural occasions.
Prediction markets’ reputation
Decentralized prediction markets have surged in reputation this 12 months thanks to Polymarket’s success. These platforms enable customers to guess on occasions, starting from sports activities outcomes to geopolitical incidents.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has notably praised prediction markets as one of many main social epistemic applied sciences of the 2020s. He said:
“[These markets are] truth-seeking and democratic, built around open public participation rather than pre-selected elites.”
Nonetheless, the market’s rising reputation has drawn regulatory scrutiny. The US Commodities Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) and lawmakers like Senator Elizabeth Warren have expressed considerations in regards to the affect of those bets on public curiosity and known as for his or her restrictions.
Conversely, vital gamers within the crypto business, akin to Coinbase and Gemini, oppose these regulatory strikes, arguing that they’re economically flawed.
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