Over the last few years, prediction markets have quietly proven something important: people want to express opinions about the future with skin in the game. Kalshi, Polymarket, and others showed there’s real demand for this behavior.
But I think we’re still missing the next layer.
Right now, prediction markets mostly optimize for outcomes:
Yes or no
Buy or sell
Price discovery
What they don’t really optimize for is people.
There’s very little identity, reputation, or social context. You’re usually trading alone, against an anonymous market, with no persistent sense of skill or progression.
That’s where we think the next evolution comes in.
At GameStock, we’re building what we believe is the social and competitive layer on top of markets.
Instead of asking:
“What do you think will happen?”
We ask:
“Can you outperform other people over time?”
The product looks closer to fantasy sports or online poker than a traditional prediction exchange:
You compete in daily or weekly tournaments
You pick a small portfolio (stocks or crypto) with the same virtual starting capital as everyone else
Performance is ranked on live leaderboards
You can play free or paid, create private leagues, or challenge friends head-to-head
Skill compounds into reputation, not just a single binary outcome
What’s interesting is how this changes behavior.
Markets become something you show up to, not just something you trade.
Winning feels less like guessing right once, and more like being consistently good.
Discussion shifts from “what’s the price” to “who’s actually good at this.”
Prediction markets discovered willingness.
We think the next step is habit, identity, and social gravity.
Not saying this replaces prediction markets. More like it sits on top of them and expands the surface area:
From outcomes → performance
From liquidity → community
From one-off bets → repeat competition
Curious how others here think about this.
If prediction markets were v1 of “betting on the future,” what does v2 look like?
amistico•1h ago
But I think we’re still missing the next layer.
Right now, prediction markets mostly optimize for outcomes:
Yes or no
Buy or sell
Price discovery
What they don’t really optimize for is people.
There’s very little identity, reputation, or social context. You’re usually trading alone, against an anonymous market, with no persistent sense of skill or progression.
That’s where we think the next evolution comes in.
At GameStock, we’re building what we believe is the social and competitive layer on top of markets.
Instead of asking:
“What do you think will happen?”
We ask:
“Can you outperform other people over time?”
The product looks closer to fantasy sports or online poker than a traditional prediction exchange:
You compete in daily or weekly tournaments
You pick a small portfolio (stocks or crypto) with the same virtual starting capital as everyone else
Performance is ranked on live leaderboards
You can play free or paid, create private leagues, or challenge friends head-to-head
Skill compounds into reputation, not just a single binary outcome
What’s interesting is how this changes behavior.
Markets become something you show up to, not just something you trade. Winning feels less like guessing right once, and more like being consistently good. Discussion shifts from “what’s the price” to “who’s actually good at this.”
Prediction markets discovered willingness. We think the next step is habit, identity, and social gravity.
Not saying this replaces prediction markets. More like it sits on top of them and expands the surface area:
From outcomes → performance
From liquidity → community
From one-off bets → repeat competition
Curious how others here think about this. If prediction markets were v1 of “betting on the future,” what does v2 look like?