#52 - Prediction Markets Are a New Asset Class - Lauris

Lauris is a financial economist, forward deployed philospher, a top graduate of the London School of Economics and a serial founder in the world of open-source finance.In this episode, Lauris and I discussed market and financial economics, specifically focused on his previous academic research on Arrow-Debreu securities, swaps, and event contracts outcomes, including the use of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket to create fast-feedback, information-dense "perfect" markets.We went into extensive detail on both the theory and praxis of these frameworks in the crypto industry today, focusing largely on the toxic effect of memecoins on the retail market in cryptocurrency, the case for prediction markets as a new asset class (not just sportsbook gambling), why blockchain-based perpetual futures venues like Hyperliquid and Tradexyz transcend the realm of pure crypto, why "web3" was always doomed to fail, Lucretius and evolutionary theoretical frameworks for financial and social applications, his new project 'Hedgebook', modern dating dynamics, media ecology, christianity , hypergamy, RWA's and the re-industrialization of the United States with artificial intelligence.