Meta has begun developing an in-house prediction market app similar to Polymarket, according to a report. TechCrunch, citing the New York Times, reported on June 23 that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (마크 저커버그) approved the development of a prediction-market smartphone app. The project is internally called "Arena."
Arena is expected to be operated separately from other social media services within Meta. The company is also considering ways to bring users in from existing Meta services such as Facebook and Instagram.
Sources said Arena, in its current concept, is designed so that no real money changes hands. It takes the form of a game in which users earn points if they correctly bet on specific topics. Meta is also leaving open the possibility of adding real-money transactions later. Meta defined the Arena app as "experimental but a top priority," TechCrunch reported.
Prediction markets have grown sharply over the past year. Trading volumes on platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi reached tens of billions of dollars as of April. X entered the prediction market last summer through a partnership with Polymarket.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr