As the SocialFi sector in the crypto space declines and social and financial aspects seem incompatible, exchanges and emerging trading platforms are quietly embedding social features into their financial interfaces. Tykoo, Investment Director at Paramita, points out that AI is reshaping the competitive advantages of trading products, and the most noteworthy sector in 2026 may well be the combination of "social trading and prediction markets." From Base Apps to GMGN, new forms of social layers are changing the very nature of trading.
SocialFi is dead, but social networking is becoming a new competitive advantage for exchanges.
Tykoo points out that the failure of SocialFi in the past stemmed from trying to force financial elements into social platforms, but the path to true success is actually the opposite: embedding social functions into trading products .
From GMGN's group trading, Pump.fun's live streaming interaction , Hyperliquid's copy trading and competitions to Polymarket's commenting function, these platforms share a common characteristic: they are essentially trading products, but they actively create a highly engaging social environment. There are two main reasons for this.
Expanding network effects: AI makes products increasingly easy to copy and replicate, while social networks, content accumulation, and real-world trading records become moats that are difficult to replicate.
Mastering the Attention Layer: For e-commerce platforms, social interaction is not just about entertainment, but also a battle for the attention distribution layer.
He cited Binance Square as an example, where the platform no longer allows advertisers to dump their budgets externally, but instead creates its own content and square within the app, allowing information, discussions, registration, deposits, and transactions to all be completed in one place.
Tykoo stated that for traders, social spaces offer real-time discussions and credible live trading: "Social features such as spectating, copy trading, competitions, and leaderboards help users retain them and increase their trading frequency."
Different assets constitute different social spaces: consensus is more important than function.
Tykoo emphasizes: "Different positioning and asset types will create different social spaces." Profit-oriented assets give rise to analytical communities such as Xueqiu and Bidclub; while meme concepts linked to emotions give rise to fanatical cultures like r/WSB and GMGN.
Looking back at history, the same pattern emerges. After the advent of NFTs, community discussions on Discord evolved into OpenSea, a trading platform with social attributes. The key is not how the product is designed, but how consensus is generated within a social context and then integrated into the trading platform.
Every major trading app investment opportunity often arises during periods of pricing chaos in this new asset class.
Where are the most likely social trading venues to explode in 2026? Prediction Markets
So what will be the next "NFT-level" asset? Tykoo's answer is "prediction markets." He argues that prediction markets are inherently poised for explosive growth:
New asset characteristics: Initial pricing chaos, new trading venues expected to continue to emerge.
Highly social: Every market is a countdown narrative, inherently suited for discussion and debate.
It can be streamed and content-driven: the ups and downs of an event can attract attention in themselves.
He speculates that a new product format combining "live streaming," "event prediction," and "trading" may emerge in the future. While mainstream trading platforms may get involved, the highly fragmented nature of the content categories also presents an opportunity for startups to enter the market.
AI will change the nature of trading: from profit-driven to gamified.
Tykoo also emphasized that AI is another huge variable driving the rise of social transactions.
When AI integrates research, analysis, strategy generation, and execution, alpha will become scarce, and the market will become more efficient. Traders will no longer be able to profit from information asymmetry, but rather from possessing scarce resources such as electricity, data sources, distribution channels, brand, and network effects.
The motivations of ordinary participants will also focus more on "emotions, belonging and a sense of participation", and trading will therefore be integrated with social behavior, with concepts of identity symbolism, life or gamification. Trading competitions between AIs are one example.
The next opportunity: Who can capture attention and social networks?
In summary, Tykoo believes that the key to creating the next truly perfect trading product will no longer be just about enhancing depth or user experience, but rather "the ability to capture attention and social networks."
Today, the battlefield for exchanges will no longer be just the matching engine, but the competition will become the place where emotions, content, consensus and trading behavior occur.
This article, "The Decline of SocialFi and the Rise of Social Trading: How the Incorporation of Trading into Everyday Life Has Fostered the 'Social Trading' Sector?", first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
