The 5-month old Augur prediction market platform is facing an early test of its robustness. Last month, a pseudonymous user named "Poyo" created a market that misled traders. That market, a U.S. Midterm election market, had $1.4M+ wagered on it. There's currently a dispute about what the correct outcome of the market should be, which REP holders will ultimately decide (see all the details here).We think the outcome of this particular market is less important in the long-term than what this situation tests: whether a decentralized oracle system can work in practice. We believe that permissionless prediction markets are one of the most important innovations that has emerged in the blockchain space to date and are excited about the protocol improving (Augur v2 is coming next year) and products that improve usability (Veil, and many more to come).
The Control - Issue #48
The Control - Issue #48
The Control - Issue #48
The 5-month old Augur prediction market platform is facing an early test of its robustness. Last month, a pseudonymous user named "Poyo" created a market that misled traders. That market, a U.S. Midterm election market, had $1.4M+ wagered on it. There's currently a dispute about what the correct outcome of the market should be, which REP holders will ultimately decide (see all the details here).We think the outcome of this particular market is less important in the long-term than what this situation tests: whether a decentralized oracle system can work in practice. We believe that permissionless prediction markets are one of the most important innovations that has emerged in the blockchain space to date and are excited about the protocol improving (Augur v2 is coming next year) and products that improve usability (Veil, and many more to come).