Zora Expands to Solana with Launch of 'Attention Markets' for Trading Internet Trends

Zora, a prominent on-chain social platform and decentralized protocol, is making a strategic expansion beyond its NFT and creator-focused origins by launching "attention markets" on Solana—a new product enabling users to trade tokens linked to internet trends, memes, and cultural moments.

A New Approach to Speculation

Unveiled on February 17, the feature allows any user to create a market for 1 SOL. Once established, participants can buy and sell positions based on whether they believe a particular topic will gain or lose momentum across social media platforms.

Unlike traditional prediction markets that focus on elections or macroeconomic data, attention markets enable speculation on cultural buzz itself. Users can trade positions on hashtags, viral narratives, and broader themes such as "AI girlfriend" or "bitcoin." The concept represents a Polymarket-style approach to betting on vibes rather than concrete events.

Why Solana?

The platform's design capitalizes on Solana's technical advantages, including fast block times and minimal transaction costs. These features are critical for supporting the rapid price updates and frequent trading activity necessary for markets centered around ephemeral online momentum.

Early Performance Shows Mixed Results

Initial trading activity has been modest. The primary "attentionmarkets" token briefly reached approximately $70,000 in market capitalization, with around $200,000 in trading volume. Most other trend-based markets failed to attract substantial liquidity, with few surpassing the $10,000 threshold on their first day.

While percentage swings were notable, they largely reflected thin order books rather than genuine sustained demand, highlighting the volatile nature of these nascent markets.

Departure from Base Sparks Community Backlash

Zora emerged as one of the standout applications on Coinbase's Layer 2 Base network in recent years. The platform launched its ZORA token on Base in April and introduced Creator Coins tied to Base profiles in July—an initiative that briefly propelled Base past Solana in daily token creation.

Creator coins function as tradable tokens tied to an individual creator's online profile, brand, or community. They essentially represent "shares" in a person's internet presence. On platforms like Zora and Base, these coins can be automatically generated from user profiles, allowing fans to purchase them as signals of support, social status, or speculation on a creator's growing popularity.

The launch of attention markets on Solana has been perceived by some as a pivot away from Base, drawing criticism from community members. Jacek Trociński, developer behind Base memecoin Degen, expressed disappointment over Zora's move to Solana. Veil Cash builder Apex777.eth went further, accusing Zora of "extracting" value from Base before switching networks.

However, Base creator Jesse Pollak clarified that Zora's creator tools remain "fully operational" on the Base network, suggesting the platform is maintaining a multi-chain presence rather than completely abandoning its Base ecosystem.

The Future of Cultural Speculation

As speculation evolves beyond traditional price charts to encompass cultural data, platforms like Zora are experimenting with whether attention itself can become a tradable asset—one that's memetic and deeply connected to the internet's real-time financial pulse.

This development represents a broader trend in crypto markets where the lines between social influence, cultural relevance, and financial value continue to blur. Whether attention markets will achieve meaningful adoption or remain a niche experiment depends on their ability to attract sustained liquidity and engaged communities willing to bet on the fickle nature of internet virality.

Our Take

Zora's attention markets represent an ambitious but risky experiment in financializing internet culture. While the concept is innovative—essentially creating prediction markets for virality—the initial lukewarm reception and thin liquidity raise questions about long-term viability. The backlash from the Base community also highlights the reputational risks of multi-chain expansion, particularly when a platform appears to shift focus away from an ecosystem where it previously thrived. Whether Zora can maintain credibility across both Base and Solana while building sustainable engagement for what are essentially "vibe futures" remains to be seen. For now, this looks more like a promising proof-of-concept than a proven product-market fit.