Solana Is Moving Into Prediction Markets With a Bold New Initiative. Could This Be a Game Changer for SOL Investors?

Online prediction markets are hot right now, so it's perhaps no surprise that the list of challengers to Kalshi and Polymarket continues to grow. The latest entrant is cryptocurrency Solana (SOL +0.37%), which just launched World, the first-ever Solana-native prediction market.

Solana's transformation from a meme-coin-centric blockchain to one built to support modern financial markets is one worth paying attention to. It's still early innings here, but this move into prediction markets could eventually be a game changer for Solana.

What in the world is World?

For some time, World had been known as a Solana mystery project, and nobody really knew what it was or how it could grow the Solana blockchain ecosystem. But all that changed on July 1, when World finally launched.

Using the tag line "Trade Everything," World is an online prediction market built on Solana. It's completely on-chain, meaning that everything can take place within the world of blockchain and crypto.

For example, you don't need a bank account to fund your World account -- all you need is a Solana blockchain wallet with crypto in it. Moreover, all prediction market trades are settled in a Solana-native stablecoin, and all outcomes are settled based on data provided by Chainlink (LINK +0.87%), the world's top blockchain oracle network.

Image source: Getty Images.

That's a lot to unpack, and it's easy to see how all this sounds a lot more complicated than simply making a trade on Kalshi or Polymarket. The hope, though, is that Solana's young crypto-native users will quickly shift from trading meme coins to making online predictions.

Just to see how it all works, I accessed the World prediction market via the Phantom app on my phone. All you have to do is click on the "Predict" button, and a list of potential markets pops up.

Right now, the choices are extremely limited. You can make short-term "up/down" predictions about Bitcoin, and you can predict the outcome of FIFA World Cup soccer games. That's it. This summer, World is going to bring sports, politics, and macroeconomic events into the mix. But for now, Polymarket and Kalshi don't need to worry.

Is World the "killer app" for Solana?

But let's think long-term. This could be the long-awaited "killer app" for the Solana blockchain. Back in October 2023, investment firm VanEck predicted that the price of Solana could soar as high as $3,200, provided it finds a "killer app." Loosely defined, this means an app capable of quickly growing into 100 million users, along the lines of ChatGPT.

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CRYPTO: SOL

Solana

Today's Change

(0.37%) $0.30

Current Price

$80.74

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$47B

Day's Range

$80.04 - $82.17

52wk Range

$60.40 - $252.78

Volume

1.7B

Until July, that seemed to be a tall order for Solana. But now it doesn't seem to be completely out of the question. When you factor in that one popular Solana wallet (Phantom) already has 20 million users, Solana may be able to scale more quickly than people think possible.

If all goes according to plan, online prediction markets could be the "killer app" that Solana has been searching for. If that's the case, then $80 for Solana is entirely too low.