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Much to my dad’s chagrin, I’ve always enjoyed putting a bet or two on sports.
Like most gamblers, I lose a lot more often than I win, but I see it as a relatively inexpensive way to add intrigue to what’s happening on the screen. And the thrill of winning a bet is hard to match – you truly do feel like Nostradamus for a moment or two.
But of course, I’m not an oracle, and neither is any other individual gambler. But what if thousands of people band together and put their money where their mouths are? The wisdom of the crowd might be at work here.
That’s part of what Polymarket is betting on as it’s positioned itself as a platform to more accurately predict the future compared to traditional polls. However, some see the Web3 firm as yet another sketchy cryptocurrency site. Read today’s featured story for the full details.
Today we look at:
- All bets are on
- Ninja Van’s software business in Vietnam pays salaries after protest
- Other newsy highlights such as Google kicking off construction of a data center in Malaysia worth US$2 billion and SoftBank joining OpenAI’s US$6.5 billion funding round.
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Polymarket’s big bet on prediction markets
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Prediction markets are nothing new, but Polymarket is making waves as Web3’s hottest rising star.
The firm has raised funding from big-name backers and set trading records in recent months. But is it just another sketchy cryptocurrency platform or the future of how we predict the future?
- Bookie in the making: Polymarket allows users to place bets on the outcome of real-world events (e.g. sports games or political races) using the cryptocurrency USDC. The platform is easy to use even for folks without deep knowledge of Web3 tech and has clocked more than 500,000 users.
- Beyond gambling: The prices of any market available on the platform can be regarded as the real-time probability of an event taking place, which is why advocates believe it to have utility as an oracle. Being on the blockchain brings some benefits for prediction markets, including increased transparency.
- Not necessarily a safe bet: Polymarket has faced some legal problems, including a US$1.4 million fine from a US government body that ultimately led the platform to block US users from its site. There is also concern that users could manipulate the public perception of an event to make profits.
Read more: Web3 firm takes bets on predictions – degen play or crystal ball?
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