Controversy Erupts As Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Defends Hezbollah Betting Markets On Polymarket

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sparked controversy after expressing support for Hezbollah-related betting markets on the decentralized Polymarket platform.

Buterin defended the markets, arguing they provide a way to hold people accountable for their predictions.

“There’s all kinds of people (incl elites) on twitter and the internet making harmful and inaccurate predictions about conflicts,” Buterin said in an Oct. 1 post on X. ”Being able to go and see if people with actual skin in the game think that something has a 2% chance or a 50% chance is a valuable feature that can help keep people sane.”

Hezbollah Markets Criticized For Downplaying Severity Of Global Events

The markets under the Hezbollah section include bets on whether Israel will invade Lebanon within different time frames. Users can also place bets on whether a ceasefire will happen or if the US military will intervene in the region this year.

Pseudonymous user Legendary criticized the markets on X, and said they downplay the severity of a war and instead make it “look like a football game to bet on.”

It feels wrong that Polymarket has an entire Hezbollah betting section that makes a war look like a football game to bet on. pic.twitter.com/zrcSYnJmyr

— Legendary (@legendarygainz_) September 30, 2024

Polymarket itself says the purpose of such prediction markets is to “harness the wisdom of the crowd to create accurate, unbiased forecasts for the most important events to society.”  

Vitalik Buterin Says Hezbollah Markets Are Not Just About Making Money

“It’s not about ‘make money from bad stuff happening,’ it’s about creating an environment where speech has consequences (so both unjustified fearmongering *and* unjustified complacency are punished),” he said

It also provides an opportunity for people to share their opinions without having to worry about government and corporate censorship, he added. 

Chainlink community liaison Zach Rynes commented on Buterin’s post, and questioned whether his perspective would change if someone created an assassination market and then took real life action to “force a certain outcome.”

The Ethereum founder replied by saying that he opposes assassination markets.

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