SocialFi decline, Social Trading rise: How does the gamification of trading foster the emergence of the "social trading" track?

As the SocialFi sector in the crypto realm declines and social and financial functions seem difficult to coexist, exchanges and emerging trading frontends are quietly embedding social features into their financial interfaces. Paramita Investment Director Tykoo points out that AI is reshaping the moat of trading products, and perhaps the most noteworthy track by 2026 is the “combination of social trading and prediction markets.” From Base App to GMGN, new social layers are changing the essence of trading.

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SocialFi is dead, but social is becoming a new moat for exchanges

Tykoo states that the past failures of SocialFi stemmed from trying to force financial elements into social platforms, but the true path to success is actually the opposite: embedding social features within trading products.

Platforms like GMGN’s group formation, Pump.fun’s live interactions, Hyperliquid’s copy trading and competitions, and Polymarket’s comment functions share a common trait—they are fundamentally trading products but actively create engaging social environments. There are two specific reasons for this:

Expanding network effects: AI makes products increasingly easy to copy and paste, while social networks, content accumulation, and real trading records become hard-to-copy moats.

Grasping the attention layer: For trading platforms, social features are not just entertainment—they are a battleground for attention distribution.

Taking Binance Spot as an example, the platform no longer allows advertisers to throw budgets externally but instead creates its own content and plaza within the app, enabling information, discussions, registration, deposits, and trading all in one place.

Tykoo states that for traders, social spaces provide real-time discussion and credible real trading data: “Social features like spectating, copy trading, competitions, and leaderboards help retain users and increase trading frequency.”

Different assets form different social spaces: Consensus-based features are more important

Tykoo emphasizes: “Different positioning and asset types will create different social spaces.” Profit-oriented assets give rise to snowballing analysis communities like Bidclub; while meme concepts tied to emotions spawn fanatic cultures like r/WSB and GMGN.

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Looking at history, after the emergence of NFTs, community discussions on Discord evolved into social trading venues like OpenSea. The key is not just product design but how consensus is generated within social spaces and then integrated into trading venues:

Every major trading app investment opportunity often arises during the chaotic pricing phase of new asset classes.

Where will the most likely explosive social trading venues be in 2026: Prediction Markets

What is the next “NFT-level” new asset? Tykoo’s answer is “prediction markets.” He states that prediction markets inherently have explosive potential:

New asset characteristics: Initial pricing chaos, with new trading venues continuously emerging

Strong social nature: Each market is a countdown narrative, inherently suitable for discussion and debate

Can be live-streamed and contentized: The ups and downs of events naturally attract attention

He speculates that in the future, a new product form combining “live streaming,” “event prediction,” and “trading” may emerge. While mainstream trading venues might get involved, the content category’s dispersion also provides opportunities for new platforms to enter the market.

AI will change the essence of trading: shifting from profit-driven to gamification

Tykoo also emphasizes that AI is another major factor driving the rise of social trading.

When AI integrates research, analysis, strategy generation, and execution, alpha becomes scarce, and markets become more efficient. Traders will no longer profit from informational advantages but from scarce resources like electricity, data sources, distribution channels, brands, and network effects.

Motivations for ordinary participants will also focus more on “emotion, belonging, and participation,” leading to the fusion of trading and social behavior, with concepts like identity symbols, lifestyle, or gamification. AI-driven trading competitions are a prime example.

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Next opportunity: Who can gather attention and social networks?

In summary, Tykoo believes that the key to building truly perfect trading products in the next wave will no longer be just enhancing depth or user experience but “being able to gather attention and social networks.”

Today, the battlefield for exchanges will no longer be just matching engines but competing to become the place where emotions, content, consensus, and trading behaviors occur.

This article, “SocialFi Decline, Social Trading Rises: How Lifestyle Trading is Giving Rise to the ‘Social Trading’ Track,” originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.