I noticed an interesting trend in the crypto space: sports betting is increasingly moving onto the blockchain. Amit Mahensaria, who leads PRED, describes a completely different approach to organizing the sports prediction market.

The essence is that instead of a traditional bookmaker where everyone trades against the operator, PRED builds a true p2p trading platform. Users trade directly with each other here, and the platform earns from transaction fees. This fundamentally changes the economics: instead of relying on traders’ losses, the platform is incentivized by activity and trading volume.

This approach to p2p trading creates the right incentives. Traders become partners rather than opponents of the system. This builds long-term trust, which is critically important for financial markets.

Technically, PRED is optimized specifically for sports events. It implements cross-matching and special mechanisms for efficient capital utilization, which is especially important for live sports with its volatility. The platform operates on Base — Coinbase’s Layer 2, providing the speed needed for fast markets.

Another point I like: Mahensaria openly states that PRED will never block successful traders. They see them as valuable assets that contribute to market depth. This is an honest approach that sets the platform apart.

An interesting feature — the platform offers about 5-6% native yield on deposits. This increases capital efficiency and attracts more serious participants.

Mahensaria’s experience in investment banking and EdTech clearly influenced the design of PRED. It’s evident that the team is seriously thinking about market design and trust architecture.

Looking ahead, PRED plans to deepen liquidity and expand into new sports markets. If they succeed in p2p trading within the sports segment, it could become a model for other financial instruments in Web3. It’s worth keeping an eye on their development.