Is this just purely a source of mutually-verifiable entropy for pure-entertainment bets, or is there something people can use these numbers for / something people can use this as a hedge against / &c. ?
That's exactly what we want to eventually do. For an efficient market to run, there needs to be a way to manage risk.
However, if you mention "derivatives" to any normal BTC user, the mostly response of "huh?", or "aren't those the things that made the world collapse in 2008?".
Future Block, as it currently stands, is an entertainment site to bet on something novel. However, our hope is that:
1. It serves as an education tool to introduce people to derivatives, because derivatives are essentially about taking one position or the other.
2. To build liquidity for a derivatives exchange. Parimutuel applications are great for this because you don't have the 'chicken & egg' problem where you need 2 types of customers for it to work.
