CZ announces new BNB Chain prediction market, predict.fun

Changpeng Zhao announced the launch of a new prediction market called predict.fun on the BNB Chain. According to CZ, the platform gives users a chance to earn yield on idle funds while placing bets.

Users’ staked funds earn yield via DeFi integrations, differentiating it from idle-capital models like Polymarket. Predict.fun currently lists two markets with a combined volume of around $300,000. The site claims to have over 12,000 users with nearly 300,000 bets made.

Predict.fun runs on a traditional order book model

According to available data, Predict.fun is backed by CZ’s YZi Labs incubator and was founded by a former Binance researcher. The platform targets crypto, sports, and general events to position BNB Chain as a prediction hub.

Instead of placing simple bets, users buy and sell event-based shares whose prices move depending on the crowd’s expectations. 

The right prediction allows the user to redeem those shares for a fixed payout, while the wrong ones expire worthless. The platform runs on a traditional order book model, giving users the option to execute instant trades or place limit orders at preferred prices.

Predict.fun’s main selling point is its mobile-first approach. Before launching publicly, the team ran a “Skip the Queue” campaign that drew early interest by highlighting a streamlined smartphone interface. According to YZi Labs, Predict.fun fits into its goal of supporting tools that create genuine, everyday use cases on the BNB Chain. 

Through CZ’s endorsement, the announcement garnered over 590,000 views and sparked community buzz on yield mechanics and ecosystem growth potential. However, although BNB Chain has a potentially large user base, Predict.fun faces challenges related to limited stablecoin issuance and liquidity. This could hinder its growth.

This launch follows  CZ’s Trust Wallet’s new feature launch called “Predictions.” It allows users to trade on real-world events directly within the wallet, while maintaining full control of their funds. The feature starts with Myriad and will soon add platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, giving users access to prediction markets across crypto, politics, sports, entertainment, and global events.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, the market is expected to reach more than 220 million users globally, offering an in-wallet interface for trading tokenized outcomes.

The US states go after the prediction markets

To date, authorities in ten states and a string of tribal groups have launched or threatened legal action over the issue. This includes the Ohio Casino Control Commission, authorities in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Massachusetts, and New York.

Now, the state of Connecticut has fired a legal volley against sports events contracts with a trio of cease-and-desist orders sent on Wednesday to Robinhood, Kalshi, and Crypto.com. The state’s Department of Consumer Protection accused the companies of conducting unlicensed online gambling, more specifically sports wagering.

Kalshi and Crypto.com are regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission as designated contract markets (DCMs). Kalshi has argued in its New York legal challenge that the state has no right to interfere with that federal oversight.

Peter Schiff vs CZ debate on Binance Blockchain week

Today, CZ and Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff will have a debate at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai. While promoting the new prediction market feature on his self-custodial wallet firm, Trust Wallet, he predicted that the crypto industry will go bull soon. “I predict: many more ATHs coming soon. I just don’t know exactly when,” CZ wrote on X.

The face-off debate will have the two contrasting thought leaders debate the value and differences between Bitcoin and tokenized gold.

CZ has long made bullish predictions for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. In October, the former Binance chief wrote that Bitcoin will flip gold. “I don’t know exactly when. Might take some time, but it will happen. Save the tweet,” he wrote.

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