Prediction markets are one of the most compelling applications of blockchain technology today, with over $3.1 billion in betting volume over Q3 this year, and it’s no accident, writes Crypto.news. Polymarket — the leading prediction market platform widely regarded as crypto’s first ‘killer app’ — has done what few other blockchain applications have: captured mainstream attention and influenced major events, accounting for 99% of prediction market share. Take the 2024 US elections, for instance. Polymarket reached American households through mainstream media, moving beyond crypto-native circles and showing how blockchain can fundamentally change how we interact with knowledge.
But here’s the thing: prediction markets are just one part of a much more significant shift—an evolution in generating and verifying information. And it’s not just a small improvement; it’s a transformation that takes the proven success of crowdsourced platforms like Wikipedia and Reddit to the next level.
Wikipedia and Reddit were groundbreaking—innovating throughout the early years of the 2000s, they revolutionized the way collective wisdom can be harnessed. Wikipedia’s open-editing model created a global hub for knowledge, leveraging diverse information contributions to build a widely trusted resource. Reddit gave rise to a public discourse where upvotes and downvotes represented the community’s consensus on what content was valuable and reliable. These platforms democratized access to information and opinions in a way that centralized media never could.
But their flaws cannot be overlooked. As successful as they were, these platforms fell short in critical ways. For all its strengths, Wikipedia has struggled to maintain neutrality—content wars and biased edits are inevitable in an open-editing system where a relatively small group of editors ultimately sign off on changes, leaving the community to trust their objectivity. Despite its promise of democratized opinions, Reddit often unintentionally promotes clickbait or sensationalism, favoring content that attracts votes rather than accuracy. While these two platforms are just examples among many crowdsourcing platforms, they remain vulnerable to manipulation—whether through misinformation, organized brigades, or groupthink—even as they continue to be widely used.
That’s where blockchain steps in, and this evolution isn’t optional—it’s essential.
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