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Kash Raises $2M for Social Media Prediction Markets

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Kash Raises $2M for Social Media Prediction Markets

Kash, a social-native prediction market platform, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to transform how conviction is expressed online. Built directly into social media, and starting with X, Kash turns everyday posts into live, tradable markets on real-world events, embedding forecasting into the social feed itself.

Backed by leading venture investors including Big Brain Holdings, Spartan Group, Coinbase Ventures, Kosmos Ventures, Halo Capital, MoonRock Capital, Polaris Fund, and Fabric VC, Kash is positioning prediction markets where attention already lives: inside the platforms that shape global conversation.

Rather than debating outcomes in comment threads, users can now express conviction through simple interactions with @kash_bot. No new clunky apps. No complex external trading interfaces. Just scroll, quote-post, predict, and let the market price the truth in real time.

“We’re embedding an entirely new financial vehicle where people already live, and enabling users to place, and even permissionlessly create prediction markets, directly from their feed,” said Lucas Martin Calderon, Founder and CEO of Kash.

“People already hold opinions on elections, macro, sports, and culture. Kash transforms those opinions into tradable positions and rewards those who are right.”

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Bridging Institutional Infrastructure and Consumer Attention

Before founding Kash, Lucas worked at the intersection of blockchain security and AI, collaborating with governments and tier-one banks to architect secure on-chain systems. He later worked alongside leading crypto hedge funds on high-frequency trading strategies, gaining firsthand experience in how markets aggregate and price information at scale.

Those experiences pointed to a clear shift: prediction markets are approaching an inflection point. The world has never been more uncertain, and as information accelerates and trust fragments, markets will determine what is credible. Kash brings that mechanism directly into where information spreads fastest.

Posts become markets. Engagement becomes a signal. Every prediction is settled transparently on-chain. Leaderboards, dynamic multipliers, and weekly competitive games make forecasting social and participatory, while the underlying infrastructure ensures trustless execution and automated resolution, which virally grow across social media feeds. 

Kash is also extending its infrastructure beyond its core product, working with several companies to embed prediction markets directly into their own platforms and communities, unlocking new forms of engagement and user acquisition. This is the first time large social media accounts can engage with their audience in an entirely new way, making people have skin-in-the-game around any short-lived narrative. 

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“Prediction markets are one of the most robust truth-finding mechanisms in finance. The missing piece has been distribution. Kash solves that by embedding markets natively into X, where the information and opinions already flow.” said Lata Persson from Fabric VC. “We’re excited to back Lucas and the Kash team, who bring a rare combination of deep experience in how institutional markets aggregate information, and a clear-eyed view of where consumer attention lives.” 

Why This Moment Matters

Prediction markets have historically lived on niche trading platforms. Meanwhile, billions of users debate outcomes daily on social media without economic accountability.

Kash sits at the convergence of two forces:

  • The financialization of attention
  • The growing demand for real-time, trustless information systems

“We’re not building a feature, we’re defining a new behaviour,” said Lucas. “Prediction markets shouldn’t be confined to professional traders. They should be native to how people interact with uncertainty every day.”

To support this evolution, Kash is forming a Prediction Market Council, bringing together researchers, investors, and operators to define standards and guide the responsible expansion of this emerging category.

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Kash’s Technology Is Ridiculously Impressive

Kash is the first and only prediction market protocol that enables: 

  • permissionless prediction market creation: any user can create any market
  • short-lived flash markets: Kash can create markets that last as little as 15 mins to weeks
  • leverage: users can trade with leverage, native to the protocol
  • natively embeds within social media feeds: leveraging familiar and existing user habits

This is only possible through Kash’s custom Bonding Curve Automated Market Maker mechanism, which Lucas created from scratch, fully adapted to social media dynamics and permissionless flash markets for the first time. 

Furthermore, Kash is pioneering how AI is used in prediction markets when it comes to market creation and resolution. Kash is the first protocol that will commercialise the most advanced multi-agentic high-reasoning LLM Council that trustlessly verifies its outcomes using zero-knowledge proof cryptography. 

Path to Launch

Kash has launched its pre-testnet simulation on X through “Kash Flash: The Sovereign Signal,” a weekly competitive prediction series identifying the platform’s most accurate forecasters. Top performers earn “Signal” Tickets, granting early access, testnet privileges, and enhanced mainnet participation.

With pre-seed capital secured, Kash is scaling infrastructure, expanding its team, and accelerating toward a broader launch.  As social platforms continue to dominate global attention, Kash is building the infrastructure that turns conversation into markets, and markets into signals.

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About Kash

Kash is a social-native prediction market platform embedded into X, enabling users to trade on real-world events directly within their feed. Founded by Lucas Martin Calderon, Kash combines institutional-grade infrastructure with social-native design to make forecasting accessible, competitive, and economically meaningful. 

For more information: Visit kash.bot | Announcement on X @kash_bot | Follow @lmc_security

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MSTR tops list of most heavily shorted stocks, but don’t assume pure bearishness

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Highest short interest outstanding as a percentage of market cap (Goldman Sachs)

The market for Bitcoin-holder Strategy (MSTR) shares is among the most “heavily shorted,” a market slang term for dominance of bearish plays, according to FactSet and Goldman Sachs data. Yet the positioning may not reflect investor bias toward a continued price crash, per some observers.

According to the report released last week, bearish short bets on Strategy (MSTR) equaled 14% of its market capitalization of $34 billion at the time, making it the most shorted stock by that measure. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) ranked fourth at 11% of its market cap. The report tracked positioning in stocks with market capitalization of over $25 billion.

This comes as Strategy is sitting on roughly a $7 billion unrealized loss on its bitcoin holdings. That figure, however, has no impact on the stock in the near term. Strategy began adding BTC to its balance sheet in 2020 and has since gobbled up 717,722 BTC, worth $47 billion. As of writing, its market cap stood closer at $42 billion, despite the stock falling 20% year-to-date.

One explanation for the elevated short interest offered by analysts is the basis trade – a strategy that seeks to profit from the price difference between two related markets. In this context, traders may bought bitcoin spot ETFs, like BlackRock’s IBIT, while simultaneously shorting the MSTR stock. to profit from a narrowing of MSTR’s premium to its BTC holdings narrows, plus any funding from paired futures if layered on, while staying market neutral.

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“I suspect a lot of this short interest is still MSTR / BTC basis trade. Jane Street, in particular, has recently acquired a conspicuously large IBIT position,” Brian Brookshire, specialist in bitcoin treasury companies, said.

According to recent 13F filings, Jane Street purchased more than 7 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. It also held a large position in MSTR.

If Brookshire’s instincts hold, Jane Street’s purchases of IBIT could be a part of the carry/basis trade, paired with short positions in MSTR.

So far this year, that trade would have not worked. The MSTR-to-IBIT ratio is up about 12%, meaning MSTR has outperformed IBIT on the downside. MSTR is down 20% year to date, while IBIT has fallen 27%.

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Highest short interest outstanding as a percentage of market cap (Goldman Sachs)

Highest short interest outstanding as a percentage of market cap (Goldman Sachs)

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Institutional ETF Flows Tilt Toward This Altcoin in February

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Solana ETF flows in February

Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are diverging from broader crypto ETF trends this month. While demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum products has shown signs of cooling, Solana-linked funds have maintained steady inflows.

The shift comes amid heightened volatility in digital asset markets. With macro uncertainty weighing on investor sentiment, ETF flows may be offering a signal of where institutional capital is positioning in the short term.

Solana ETF Streak Stands Out in Volatile Crypto Market

According to data from SoSoValue, Solana ETFs have recorded consecutive inflows since February 10. As of February 24, the products have logged only three red days this month. Overall, the ETFs have pulled in $30.33 million. 

The streak stands out against the more uneven performance seen in larger crypto ETFs during the same period.

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Solana ETF flows in February
Solana ETF flows in February. Source: SoSoValue

Bitcoin ETFs have posted mixed results in February. Inflows were recorded on seven trading days this month. Ethereum ETFs have followed a similar pattern, reflecting inconsistent demand rather than sustained accumulation. 

Despite those positive sessions, cumulative flows remain deeply negative. So far this month, Bitcoin ETFs’ net outflows stand at $939.94 million. In addition, Ethereum ETFs recorded outflows of $490.58 million.

When compared to other altcoin products, Solana’s performance also appears relatively stronger. XRP-linked ETFs have experienced outflows on three trading sessions this month while recording zero flows on four days. 

Although the number of positive sessions is comparable, the consistency of Solana’s streak since mid-February remains notable.

Nonetheless, it is important to contextualize the data. In absolute dollar terms, inflows into Solana ETFs remain smaller than those seen in Bitcoin products. 

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Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs continue to command the majority of institutional crypto exposure and overall capital allocation. However, consistency in flows can indicate relative resilience in demand during periods of broader uncertainty.

The steady inflows into Solana products suggest that some investors are maintaining or selectively increasing exposure to higher-beta assets, even as flagship crypto ETFs experience uneven demand. Still, the divergence may reflect short-term capital rotation rather than a structural shift in institutional positioning.

SOL Price Remains Under Pressure 

Despite the ETF inflows, Solana’s price performance has continued to reflect broader market weakness. Like most major digital assets, SOL has trended downward over the past month, declining 32.8%.

The altcoin saw a modest recovery today, rising more than 7% as total crypto market capitalization expanded by approximately $32 billion. At press time, SOL was trading at $82.15.

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Solana (SOL) Price Performance.
Solana (SOL) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto Markets

However, technical analysts remain cautious on the asset’s near-term outlook. Market commentator Alejandro suggested that Solana’s next downside target could be $45.

Whale Factor described the token as entering a high-probability “make or break” zone on the 4-hour chart. According to the analysis, SOL’s wedge formation is “reaching maximum exhaustion,” signaling a potential volatility squeeze at a critical inflection point.

The analyst outlined two possible scenarios:

“Bull Case: Clean break and retest of $82 targets the $97-100 macro resistance. Bear Case: Failure to hold the $78 support level opens the door for a retest of $68.”

Whether Solana will extend its recovery or face renewed downside pressure remains to be seen.

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Bitcoin Rebounds as Traders Debate Jane Street “10am Price Slam”

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Bitcoin Rebounds as Traders Debate Jane Street "10am Price Slam"

Bitcoin (BTC) sought to reclaim $65,000 as support into Wednesday’s Wall Street open as rumors swirled around US institutional pressure.

Key points:

  • Bitcoin bounces 2.5% as talk turns to alleged selling pressure from Wall Street trading company Jane Street.

  • Jane Street rebuts claims of crypto market manipulation during the 2022 bear market.

  • “Razor thin” order books boost BTC price volatility.

Bitcoiners debate Jane Street “10am price slam”

Data from TradingView tracked a BTC price rebound, taking BTC/USD to $66,300 on Bitstamp before the pair consolidated.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Daily price gains remained at more than 2% at the time of writing, while crypto market participants became increasingly interested in potential deliberate BTC price suppression.

A theory circulating on social media revolved around secretive quantitative investment firm Jane Street, now subject to legal action by defunct crypto company Terraform Labs.

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Coordinated algorithmic selling of Bitcoin at 10am Eastern time daily, it alleged, provided the main impetus for months of BTC price downside beginning in October 2025.

Amid the ongoing legal proceedings, Jane Street may have been forced to suspend its trading strategy, leaving the market to adjust higher.

The Terraform Labs complaint makes specific reference to “market manipulation” that impacted crypto throughout 2022, the year in which Bitcoin put in its last bear market bottom of $15,600 in Q4.

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Jane Street told Cointelegraph that the accusations were “baseless, opportunistic claims.”

The 10am argument, meanwhile, failed to convince many. Crypto YouTuber Wise Advice was among them, suggesting that the theory was too simplistic to be valid.

BTC price versus “razor thin” liquidity

Commenting on the latest BTC price move, traders remained cautious.

Related: Bitcoin ETF sell-off is ‘purification’ of bull case, investor says

“$BTC is facing major resistance at $66k – from both the local range lows and the 4h trend,” trader Jelle wrote in his latest analysis on X. 

“Flipping that could spark short-term relief, but until that happens, the trend is clear. Don’t fight it.”

BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Jelle/X

Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators, said that a “razor thin order book” on exchanges had contributed to the price rebound.

Overhead sell liquidity, he told X followers, had been pulled in advance of US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

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The 24-hour crypto liquidations totaled $333 million at the time of writing, per data from CoinGlass, with shorts accounting for $213 million of that figure.

Crypto liquidation history (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass