Zora, a decentralized SocialFi platform, has introduced its attention markets platform on the Solana blockchain. This innovative tool allows traders to speculate on which buzzwords, hashtags, trends, and topics will gain popularity online. The platform’s tagline reads, “Trade what’s trending. Take positions on any topic, idea, meme, or moment before it breaks.”
Jacob Horne, one of Zora’s founders, announced that deploying a “Trend” on the platform costs 1 Solana (SOL), currently valued at around $85. This cost is intended to discourage spamming. Notably, Trends do not offer creator rewards.
However, Zora also allows for the creation of “Pairs” under a Trend, which do provide creator rewards. In a promotional video, examples such as the $redlight and $coldplunge pairs under the $longevity trend were highlighted.
Traders have already begun testing the app, with tickers like “attentionmarkets,” “longevity,” “cats,” “dogs,” “bitcoin,” and “aigirlfriend” being among the most actively traded so far.
The attention markets platform functions similarly to traditional tokens, enabling users to trade Trends and Pairs. A dashboard is available to track profits and losses in real time.
The ZORA token saw a positive reaction to the announcement, rising 6.2% to $0.022 over the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the broader crypto market experienced a slight retracement of 1.2% during the same period.
The launch of Zora’s attention markets aligns with the rapid growth of prediction markets, which are now consistently surpassing $10 billion in monthly trading volume. These markets are increasingly being marketed to mainstream audiences.
In addition, Zora posted a job listing for an “Attention Economist.” This role seeks someone who is deeply engaged with internet culture and can identify emerging trends before they have a name. The ideal candidate would track cultural movements across platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and X.
Base community criticizes Zora’s Solana integration
Some members of the Base community expressed disappointment with Zora’s decision to integrate with Solana. This move came after Zora had previously shifted much of its activity from Solana to Base last year and launched its first token on the network in April.
Zora also played a role in launching Creator Coins linked to Base profiles in July, which contributed to Base surpassing Solana in daily token creation activity later that month.
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Jacek Trociński, the developer of Base memecoin Degen, described the shift to Solana as “really disappointing.” He criticized Zora for what he perceived as a lack of commitment to Base, stating, “After getting support from the entire @base team for the better part of a year, they capitulated the second the trade changed.”
Another Base creator, Apex777.eth, noted that Zora had extracted significant value from Base using a flawed model before pivoting to Solana.
Despite these criticisms, Jesse Pollak, a Base creator, acknowledged that Zora’s creator tools remain fully operational on Base. He expressed satisfaction with Zora’s continued experimentation to grow the onchain ecosystem.
Zora listed the Zora (ZORA) token on Solana in January, and its X profile now displays “Solana” as its location. However, Zora has not made any public statement indicating it is moving away from Base. Cointelegraph reached out for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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