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Magic Eden CEO and co-founder Jack Lu says the crypto industry is entering a “speculation supercycle,” driven by a boom in prediction markets and betting platforms that are blending finance with entertainment.
“Speculation is mainstream now. And Magic Eden is building for this world,” Lu <a href="https://x.com/0xLeoInRio/status/2013300246776799734" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">posted</a> to X on Monday.
<blockquote>
 “Prediction markets are all over Emmys and the news. Betting is the second fastest growing industry in the US after AI. Sportsbook sponsorships are all over everyone’s favorite sports broadcasts. Hyper casual games + real-money gaming are converging.”
</blockquote>
Lu’s remarks come as prediction markets’ trading volumes reached a record $814.2 million on Monday, smashing the previous record of $701.7 million last Monday, Dune Analytics <a href="https://dune.com/gateresearch/prediction-markets-overview" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">data</a> shows.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019bd986-ef69-7b58-a54b-f8bb04e90894.png" title="" alt="Magic Eden co-founder sees ‘speculation supercycle’ ahead">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Daily trading volume on prediction markets since September 2024. Source:<a href="https://dune.com/gateresearch/prediction-markets-overview" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> Dune Analytics</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
 Kalshi continues to lead trading volumes across politics, finance, sports, and entertainment markets, while Polymarket and Opinion are also performing strongly.
<h2 id="magic-eden-to-capitalize-on-speculation">Magic Eden to capitalize on speculation</h2>
In the same post, Lu confirmed that its new crypto casino and sportsbook platform Dicey will launch this quarter. The platform is designed to let users host games and wager in a decentralized environment, according to the company.
Earlier on Monday, Magic Eden <a href="https://x.com/MagicEden/status/2013267552827273689?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">said</a> tokenholders will also get a cut of any new initiatives.
A total of 15% of Magic Eden’s revenue will be allocated to ME (<a href="/magic-eden-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer">ME</a>) token holders, the company said.
This revenue will be split equally between ME buybacks and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sharplink-33m-ether-staking-170m-yield" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">staking rewards,</a> paid out in the USDC (<a href="/usdc-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer">USDC</a>) stablecoin.
Revenue earned from staking will be based on how much ME is staked and for how long, with USDC rewards claimable monthly starting from March.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-01/019bd986-f4a6-7301-9eb7-64f0dc3d0fed.jpg" title="" alt="Magic Eden co-founder sees ‘speculation supercycle’ ahead">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a href="https://x.com/MagicEden/status/2013267552827273689" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Magic Eden</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<h2 id="nft-industry-struggles-to-bounce-back">NFT industry struggles to bounce back</h2>
The announcements come after the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-market-cap-9-3b-eth-price-surge" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">NFT market cap</a> fell 68% from $7.95 billion to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-collections-no-santa-rally-market-2025-lows" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$2.5 billion in 2025,</a> CoinGecko <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/nft/global-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">data</a> shows.
Organizers of the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-captivate-fashion-luxury-nft-paris" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">NFT Paris </a>conference said the market pullback contributed to their <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-the-nft-paris-cancellation-says-about-the-current-state-of-the-nft-market" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">canceling the event</a> this year.
<blockquote>
 “Despite drastic cost cuts and months of trying to make it work, we couldn't pull it off this year.”
</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/animoca-brands-acquires-somo-nft-market-rebound-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Animoca buys Somo as NFT market rebounds early in 2026</a>
Lu said Magic Eden plans to expand beyond NFTs as speculation-driven products gain mainstream traction.
The NFT market has started strongly in 2026, with the NFT market cap back over $3 billion, a 28% increase over the first 20 days.
Magazine:<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-market-bear-phase-youtube-views-influencers-carl-moon-runefelt-cointelegraph/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> One metric shows crypto is now in a bear market: Carl ‘The Moon’</a>

Magic Eden co-founder sees ‘speculation supercycle’ ahead

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