2025 will be a turning point for prediction markets. Once considered a niche speculative tool, this sector is transforming into a foundational infrastructure that aggregates collective intelligence on a global scale. Data speaks: total trading volume has already surpassed hundreds of billions of dollars, major players from traditional financial institutions and the sports industry are entering the market, and regulatory bodies in various countries are beginning to provide clearer rules—multiple signals appearing simultaneously indicate that the industry has entered a new growth cycle.

This change did not happen out of thin air. Improvements in the regulatory environment, the maturity of blockchain technology, and users' desire for more accurate prediction tools—these three forces combined are driving the industry from the periphery to the center stage. The essence of prediction markets is actually quite simple: aggregating dispersed information held by different individuals through market mechanisms to allow collective intelligence to emerge automatically, thereby making more accurate predictions about future events. This concept is not new—marine insurance and election forecasting have existed for hundreds of years—but real large-scale growth only arrived after digital technology and decentralized networks matured.

Decentralized prediction market platforms launched global public testing at the end of last year, focusing on "collective consensus." The project introduced proof of contribution mechanisms and a dual-token model to address structural issues present in traditional prediction markets. These innovations aim to fundamentally change participant incentives and platform governance, making them an interesting window into the evolution of the entire sector.