DeFi protocol Drift has introduced a prediction market named BET on the Solana blockchain, according to an Aug. 19 announcement .

Drift Protocol co-founder Cindy Leow compared BET's prediction market to continuous trading. She explained that, similar to how perpetual traders wager on potential price fluctuations in crypto, prediction markets permit financial stakes in the outcomes of real-world events.

She remarked :

“Translating real events into a permissionless financial system opens the door to wagering on everything from making localized bets with a small group of friends to attempting to predict the outcome of a US presidential election.”

BET features

BET operates similarly to Polymarket , allowing users to acquire YES or NO shares on an event such as the upcoming US presidential election.

However, the Solana-based platform distinguishes itself by enabling users to employ over 30 cryptocurrencies — including USDC and SOL, among others — as collateral. Users also earn returns on their assets prior to the event's outcome being determined.

Additionally, BET empowers users to mitigate their predictions with “structured bets.” This feature allows them to take a long position in the prediction market while shorting Bitcoin . The platform also boasts a rewards system called FUEL, intended to boost trading activity and encourage user engagement.

Although BET is initially focused on US elections, plans are underway to expand into other areas, such as Formula 1 and other cryptocurrency and cultural events.

Prediction markets’ popularity

Decentralized prediction markets have become increasingly popular this year due to the success of Polymarket . These platforms let users wager on events, spanning from sports outcomes to geopolitical developments.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has notably praised prediction markets as one of the leading social epistemic technologies of the 2020s. He said :

“[These markets are] designed to seek truth and are democratic, built on open public participation rather than pre-selected groups.”

However, the platform's rising popularity has attracted regulatory attention. The US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and officials like Senator Elizabeth Warren have voiced concerns about the potential consequences of these predictions on the public interest and called for limitations.

However, prominent figures in the crypto industry, including Coinbase and Gemini , disagree with these regulatory proposals, arguing that they are economically unsound.