Sztorc: Digital Cash and Prediction Markets Share Similar Histories

Bloq Economist and Bitcoin Hivemind creator Paul Sztorc has been fascinated with prediction markets for many years, and he views these mechanisms for the creation of ‘event derivatives’ as an essential public good. Although Sztorc had been a supporter of centralized prediction market InTrade in the past, he now sees the need for a blockchain-based solution to allow these sorts of markets to proliferate around the world.
Recently, Sztorc chatted with Adamant Research Editor in Chief Tuur Demeester about prediction markets, Bitcoin, sidechains and many other topics. During the discussion, Sztorc was able to explain the parallel histories of digital cash systems, such as Bitcoin, and the prediction markets that have fascinated him for all these years.
The Days of InTrade
In the early days of his interest in Bitcoin, Sztorc was also an avid follower of InTrade, the former online prediction market based out of Ireland. For Sztorc, InTrade was a sign that true, global prediction markets had arrived. ‘That was like ‘where the book club met,’ so to speak,’ he told Demeester. ‘The institution was sort of there and it was being tried out in various forms, and it wasn’t being pursued very quickly. But at least there was this place where you could go and you could get unbelievably reliable information.’
To Sztorc, prediction markets are somewhat magical. He explained:

This post was published at Bitcoin Magazine on Sep 12, 2016.