Tuesday, August 18, 2026GraphArchiveSubscribeDaily · No. 69

The Probable Times

What the world’s prediction markets expect — read as news

Markets Price Iran-Arab Strike at 85% as Likud Crowns Eli Cohen

Traders priced a confrontation between Iran and an Arab neighbor at 85% overnight while Israel's ruling party handed its primary to Eli Cohen in a near-total landslide. Peace-talk odds cooled in tandem, and NATO's drone-intercept tally crept toward certainty.

Traders piled into a single question overnight: will Iran strike an Arab neighbor before the month is out? The market moved from a coin-flip to near-certainty, now pricing 85%, up 80 points on the day and 77 on the week, on $40,793 in trades. The shift arrived alongside a diplomatic reversal — bettors trimmed odds that Steve Witkoff (48%, -14 points) or Marco Rubio (16%, -26 points) attend any US-Iran peace talks by year's end, and pushed NATO's odds of downing a second Russian drone by August 31 to 97%, up 69 points on the week. In Israeli politics, the Likud primary broke decisively: Eli Cohen surged to 97% (+96 points) as Amir Ohana collapsed to 2% (-80 points), a near-total reversal in a single day. Elsewhere, Anthropic's shot at a $2.5 trillion valuation by December firmed to 50% (+27 points on the week), and Korean esports saw DN SOOPers jump to 51% (+19 points) in the KeSPA Cup final.

Today’s biggest movesprobability shifts, volume-weighted
Geopolitics

Will Iran target a Arab country on August 17, 2026?

5.2% 85% 24h
$40,793 traded · 24h
Geopolitics

Will Amir Ohana win the 2026 Likud party primary elections?

82% 2.1% 24h
$9,371 traded · 24h
Geopolitics

NATO downs another Russian drone by August 31?

28% 97% 7d
$26,865 traded · 24h
Politics & Elections

Will Darline Graham Nordone be the new republican nominee for Senate in South Carolina?

41% 90% 7d
$65,502 traded · 24h
Politics & Elections

Will Catalina Lauf be the Republican nominee for FL-19?

36% 90% 7d
$14,919 traded · 24h
Politics & Elections

Will Chuck Gray be the WY-AL Republican nominee?

28% 74% 7d
$19,499 traded · 24h
Sports

Will DN SOOPers Win KeSPA Cup 2026?

2.6% 51% 7d
$8,459 traded · 24h
Economy & Crypto

Will Anthropic's valuation hit (HIGH) $2.5T by December 31?

24% 50% 7d
$10,616 traded · 24h

Geopolitics

The defining move: odds that Iran strikes an Arab country by August 17 rocketed to 85%, up 80 points in a day, even as bets on any US-Iran peace talks cooled — Witkoff to 48% (-14) and Rubio to 16% (-26). Israel's Likud primary resolved almost entirely: Eli Cohen at 97% (+96), Amir Ohana crushed to 2% (-80). NATO's odds of a second downed Russian drone by August 31 climbed to 97% (+69 on the week), and traders scattered on which Chinese firm exits the Pentagon's blacklist — BYD, Baidu, CATL and Tencent all fell double digits.

August 1785%▲ 80 24hAugust 3112%▲ 7 24hAugust 2512%▲ 6 24hAugust 289%▲ 4 24h
Eli Cohen97%▲ 96 24hAmir Ohana2.1%▼ 80 24h
August 3197%▲ 4 24h
BYD14%▼ 40 24hBaidu14%▼ 37 24hCATL12%▼ 28 24hTencent16%▼ 23 24h
Marco Rubio16%▼ 26 24hSteve Witkoff48%▼ 14 24hMohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani28%▼ 9 24hMasoud Pezeshkian22%▼ 8 24h
September 3028%▼ 11 24hAugust 3111%▼ 2 24hAugust 223.6%▼ 2 24hOctober 3153%▼ 8 24h

Politics & Elections

Four Republican primaries approach their deadlines: Darline Graham Nordone leads South Carolina's Senate race at 90% (+3), Catalina Lauf holds FL-19 at 90% (+7), and Chuck Gray leads WY-AL at 74% (+6), all resolving within about a day. FL-14 flipped hard as Mike Beltran surged to 72% (+30) past Kevin Steele's 24% (-32). Wisconsin's governor race stayed lopsided, with Democrat David Crowley at 78% (+38 on the week) over Republican Tom Tiffany.

Darline Graham Nordone90%▲ 3 24hRalph Norman9.5%▼ 4 24h
Catalina Lauf90%▲ 7 24hJim Schwartzel10%▼ 5 24hJim Oberweis1.6%▼ 9 7d
Kevin Steele24%▼ 32 24hMike Beltran72%▲ 30 24h
Chuck Gray74%▲ 6 24hSteve Friess22%▼ 4 24hKevin Christensen3.5%▼ 11 7d
David Crowley (D)78%▲ 2 24hTom Tiffany (R)24%▼ 36 7d
Michael Carbonara28%▼ 20 24hCasey Askar28%▲ 18 24hBelinda Keiser30%▲ 8 24hDavid Burck9.8%▼ 8 24h

Economy & Crypto

Anthropic's path to a $2.5 trillion valuation by year-end firmed to 50%, up 27 points on the week, while the $1.75 trillion threshold reached 82%. Fed-hike odds for 2026 sat at 48%, little changed on the day but down 12 points on the week. NVIDIA's grip on largest-company status looked secure at 92% through September and 78% through December.

$50M3.9%▼ 22 24h$80M2.8%▼ 21 24h$150M2.1%▼ 5 24h$500M1.7%▼ 4 24h
↑$1.75T82%▲ 7 24h↑$2.5T50%▲ 4 24h↑$2.0T70%▲ 2 24h↑$3.0T34%▼ 3 24h
Fed rate hike by...? $26,104 · 24h
September Meeting28%▲ 4 24hOctober Meeting39%▼ 10 7d
Fed rate hike in 2026? $59,514 · 24h
Fed rate hike in 2026?48%▲ 1 24h
NVIDIA92%▲ 10 7dAlphabet2.5%▼ 5 7dApple5.5%▲ 1 24h
NVIDIA78%▲ 2 24hApple12%▼ 2 24hAlphabet10%▼ 2 7d

Science & Tech

GPT-6's expected release window kept shifting: November 30 became the favored date at 60% (+5 on the day), while September 30 faded to 28% (-10). Anthropic held a near-lock on best AI model through August at 98% (+4 on the week), leaving OpenAI at just 2%.

GPT-6 released by…? $29,203 · 24h
September 30, 202628%▼ 10 24hAugust 31, 20268.5%▲ 2 24hSeptember 15, 202620%▲ 6 24hNovember 30, 202660%▲ 5 24h
Anthropic98%▲ 1 24hOpenAI1.6%▼ 1 24h

Sports

DN SOOPers overtook Nongshim RedForce in the KeSPA Cup, surging to 51% (+19 on the day, +48 on the week). Chelsea's hold on Enzo Fernandez loosened to 55% (-23 on the week) as Manchester City rose to 42% (+28). Harry Kane held the Ballon d'Or lead at 62% (+5 on the week).

KeSPA Cup 2026: Winner $22,894 · 24h
DN SOOPers51%▲ 19 24hNongshim RedForce48%▲ 2 24h
Manchester City42%▲ 4 24hChelsea55%▼ 5 24hReal Madrid2.4%▼ 1 24h
TEAM VISION42%▲ 2 24hTeam Yandex6.2%▼ 4 24hNigma Galaxy8%▲ 6 7dTeam Liquid12%▲ 2 24h
Jannik Sinner42%▼ 9 24hArthur Fils2.1%▲ 1 24hDaniil Medvedev2.9%▲ 1 24hCarlos Alcaraz13%▲ 1 7d
EWC 2026 CS2: Winner $229,891 · 24h
Team Spirit16%▼ 8 7dMOUZ12%▼ 1 24hTeam Falcons18%▼ 4 7dFURIA12%▲ 1 24h
Ballon d'Or Winner 2026 $330,487 · 24h
Harry Kane62%▲ 2 24hKhvicha Kvaratskhelia2.9%▼ 2 24hLamine Yamal15%▼ 2 7dRodri9.5%▲ 1 24h

Culture

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's box-office markets stayed split — one contract puts a $900-920m finish at 42% (+6), another keeps $800-900m favored at 56%. The film held its lead as 2026's highest-grosser at 92%, with no consensus yet on James Bond's successor: Jack Lowden 24% (+17 on the week), No Bond chosen 25%.

<900m57%▼ 6 24h900 - 920m42%▲ 6 24h920 - 940m1.9%▲ 1 24h
Next James Bond actor? $23,926 · 24h
Jack Lowden24%▼ 1 24hCallum Turner16%▲ 7 7dNo Bond chosen25%▼ 3 24hHarris Dickinson1.7%▼ 5 7d
900m+43%▲ 6 24h800 - 900m56%▼ 5 24h
Avengers: Doomsday66%▼ 4 24hSpider-Man: Brand New Day34%▲ 2 24h
Avengers: Doomsday6.5%▼ 1 7dSpider-Man: Brand New Day92%

Diplomacy's odds fell about as fast as Amir Ohana's did — which is to say, off a cliff.

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