Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned that prediction markets are overly focused on short-term cryptocurrency and sports betting, offering limited social value. He advocates for developing prediction markets into a general-purpose hedging tool, enabling users to offset specific risks, envisioning them as a personalized economic stabilizer to reduce reliance on traditional currencies or stablecoins. Meanwhile, according to a recent report by CertiK, the industry is experiencing rapid growth but also facing technological vulnerabilities.