Solana’s Polymarket is set to expand its offerings by allowing bets on scientific tests involving laboratory mice, as part of an innovative partnership between Pump.science and Hedgehog Markets. The move, announced on January 8, 2025, reflects growing interest in the decentralized science (DeSci) sector, which is gaining momentum as an intersection of blockchain technology and scientific discovery.
Pump.science, a blockchain-driven research initiative, is focused on transforming traditional academic funding and research by leveraging tokenized protocols. Backed by the Solana Foundation, Pump.science aims to disrupt the scientific funding landscape by bringing more transparency and participation to the process.
In collaboration with Hedgehog Markets, the project will enable users to place bets on endurance tests conducted on mice, which are being treated with experimental compounds to explore their potential for extending human life expectancy. Each week, participants will have the opportunity to wager on how long each mouse can stay on a rotating rod, a test designed to measure physical endurance.
The experiment will run for two months, with each mouse receiving a unique name. Bettors will be able to access live video feeds, preliminary data, and insights from previous tests to help inform their predictions on which rodent will last the longest. The experiment results, along with weekly updates, will be available for participants to track.
Benji Leibowitz, the founder of Pump.science, highlighted that live-streamed testing would offer a more engaging and interactive way for individuals to participate in the scientific process. He emphasized that the collaboration with Hedgehog Markets introduces a “new model for engaging with scientific discovery,” merging betting with research in a way never seen before.
Hedgehog Markets, known for offering decentralized betting contracts on a wide range of real-world events—including politics, sports, and cryptocurrency prices—will serve as the platform for these new betting contracts. Similar to Polymarket, which operates on the Polygon blockchain, Hedgehog Markets aims to provide decentralized solutions for predicting real-world outcomes.
The DeSci sector, which has attracted over $2 billion in valuation, continues to grow. Prominent figures in the cryptocurrency space, such as Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin, and Maelstrom’s Arthur Hayes, are backing projects like BIO Protocol, signaling a shift toward science-based crypto narratives in 2025.
As decentralized science initiatives continue to gain traction, this partnership between Pump.science and Hedgehog Markets marks a significant step in merging blockchain technology with scientific experimentation, while also introducing a unique betting model to the burgeoning DeSci community.
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