Numerai combines two things - a prediction competition, and yet another complicated and obfuscated crypto coin scheme.<p>The prediction competition is like the Netflix Prize [1]. They give you a data set and a prediction goal, you submit an algorithm, and there's a winner. OK, although if you can do well at that, you're wasting your time giving your results to Numerai. You're competing for a total payout of $15K/month.<p>Then, for no particularly good reason, this is combined with some smart contract / crypto coin scheme. Other than for PR purposes, it's not clear what the gain is. Everybody is dealing with Numerai; it's not a many-to-many system. It's more like airline reward points.<p>The hedge fund itself doesn't use Etherium; it's completely traditional.[2]<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/02/21/this-is-the-worlds-first-cryptocurrency-issued-by-a-hedge-fund/#a76df0760b69" rel="nofollow">https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/02/21/this-is-th...</a>