diff --git a/backend/src/app.module.ts b/backend/src/app.module.ts
index 861e67f1..4f12e8b3 100644
--- a/backend/src/app.module.ts
+++ b/backend/src/app.module.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import { NotificationsModule } from './notifications/notifications.module';
 import { PredictionsModule } from './predictions/predictions.module';
 import { SeasonsModule } from './seasons/seasons.module';
 import { SorobanModule } from './soroban/soroban.module';
+import { SearchModule } from './search/search.module';
 import { UsersModule } from './users/users.module';
 
 @Module({
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@ import { UsersModule } from './users/users.module';
     SorobanModule,
     AdminModule,
     AchievementsModule,
+    SearchModule,
     CommonModule,
     AnalyticsModule,
   ],
diff --git a/backend/src/search/dto/global-search.dto.ts b/backend/src/search/dto/global-search.dto.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fd78cc13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/search/dto/global-search.dto.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+import { ApiProperty, ApiPropertyOptional } from '@nestjs/swagger';
+import { Type } from 'class-transformer';
+import {
+  IsEnum,
+  IsNumber,
+  IsOptional,
+  IsString,
+  Max,
+  Min,
+  MinLength,
+} from 'class-validator';
+
+export enum SearchType {
+  All = 'all',
+  Markets = 'markets',
+  Users = 'users',
+  Competitions = 'competitions',
+}
+
+export class GlobalSearchDto {
+  @ApiProperty({ description: 'Search query string', example: 'bitcoin' })
+  @IsString()
+  @MinLength(1)
+  query: string;
+
+  @ApiPropertyOptional({
+    enum: SearchType,
+    default: SearchType.All,
+    description: 'Filter results by entity type',
+  })
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsEnum(SearchType)
+  type?: SearchType = SearchType.All;
+
+  @ApiPropertyOptional({ default: 1 })
+  @IsOptional()
+  @Type(() => Number)
+  @IsNumber()
+  @Min(1)
+  page?: number = 1;
+
+  @ApiPropertyOptional({ default: 20, maximum: 50 })
+  @IsOptional()
+  @Type(() => Number)
+  @IsNumber()
+  @Min(1)
+  @Max(50)
+  limit?: number = 20;
+}
+
+export class MarketSearchResult {
+  @ApiProperty() id: string;
+  @ApiProperty() title: string;
+  @ApiProperty() description: string;
+  @ApiProperty() category: string;
+  @ApiProperty() is_resolved: boolean;
+  @ApiProperty() is_public: boolean;
+  @ApiProperty() participant_count: number;
+  @ApiProperty() created_at: Date;
+}
+
+export class UserSearchResult {
+  @ApiProperty() id: string;
+  @ApiProperty() username: string | null;
+  @ApiProperty() stellar_address: string;
+  @ApiProperty() avatar_url: string | null;
+  @ApiProperty() reputation_score: number;
+  @ApiProperty() total_predictions: number;
+}
+
+export class CompetitionSearchResult {
+  @ApiProperty() id: string;
+  @ApiProperty() title: string;
+  @ApiProperty() description: string;
+  @ApiProperty() start_time: Date;
+  @ApiProperty() end_time: Date;
+  @ApiProperty() participant_count: number;
+  @ApiProperty() visibility: string;
+}
+
+export class GlobalSearchResponseDto {
+  @ApiProperty({ type: [MarketSearchResult] })
+  markets: MarketSearchResult[];
+
+  @ApiProperty({ type: [UserSearchResult] })
+  users: UserSearchResult[];
+
+  @ApiProperty({ type: [CompetitionSearchResult] })
+  competitions: CompetitionSearchResult[];
+
+  @ApiProperty() total: number;
+  @ApiProperty() page: number;
+  @ApiProperty() limit: number;
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/search/search.controller.ts b/backend/src/search/search.controller.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..429a98a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/search/search.controller.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import {
+  Controller,
+  Get,
+  Query,
+  UsePipes,
+  ValidationPipe,
+} from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ApiOperation, ApiResponse, ApiTags } from '@nestjs/swagger';
+import { Public } from '../common/decorators/public.decorator';
+import { GlobalSearchDto, GlobalSearchResponseDto } from './dto/global-search.dto';
+import { SearchService } from './search.service';
+
+@ApiTags('Search')
+@Controller('search')
+export class SearchController {
+  constructor(private readonly searchService: SearchService) {}
+
+  @Public()
+  @Get()
+  @UsePipes(
+    new ValidationPipe({
+      transform: true,
+      whitelist: true,
+      forbidNonWhitelisted: true,
+    }),
+  )
+  @ApiOperation({
+    summary: 'Global search across markets, users, and competitions (public)',
+    description:
+      'Searches across multiple entity types using a single query string. ' +
+      'Results can be filtered by type and are paginated. ' +
+      'Only public markets, non-banned users, and public competitions are returned.',
+  })
+  @ApiResponse({ status: 200, type: GlobalSearchResponseDto })
+  async search(
+    @Query() query: GlobalSearchDto,
+  ): Promise<GlobalSearchResponseDto> {
+    return this.searchService.search(query);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/search/search.module.ts b/backend/src/search/search.module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..62ec80f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/search/search.module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { TypeOrmModule } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
+import { Market } from '../markets/entities/market.entity';
+import { User } from '../users/entities/user.entity';
+import { Competition } from '../competitions/entities/competition.entity';
+import { SearchController } from './search.controller';
+import { SearchService } from './search.service';
+
+@Module({
+  imports: [TypeOrmModule.forFeature([Market, User, Competition])],
+  controllers: [SearchController],
+  providers: [SearchService],
+})
+export class SearchModule {}
diff --git a/backend/src/search/search.service.ts b/backend/src/search/search.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf91b196
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/search/search.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { InjectRepository } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
+import { Repository } from 'typeorm';
+import { Market } from '../markets/entities/market.entity';
+import { User } from '../users/entities/user.entity';
+import {
+  Competition,
+  CompetitionVisibility,
+} from '../competitions/entities/competition.entity';
+import {
+  GlobalSearchDto,
+  GlobalSearchResponseDto,
+  SearchType,
+} from './dto/global-search.dto';
+
+@Injectable()
+export class SearchService {
+  constructor(
+    @InjectRepository(Market)
+    private readonly marketsRepository: Repository<Market>,
+    @InjectRepository(User)
+    private readonly usersRepository: Repository<User>,
+    @InjectRepository(Competition)
+    private readonly competitionsRepository: Repository<Competition>,
+  ) {}
+
+  async search(dto: GlobalSearchDto): Promise<GlobalSearchResponseDto> {
+    const page = dto.page ?? 1;
+    const limit = Math.min(dto.limit ?? 20, 50);
+    const skip = (page - 1) * limit;
+    const searchType = dto.type ?? SearchType.All;
+    const searchPattern = `%${dto.query}%`;
+
+    const [markets, users, competitions] = await Promise.all([
+      searchType === SearchType.All || searchType === SearchType.Markets
+        ? this.searchMarkets(searchPattern, skip, limit)
+        : Promise.resolve([]),
+      searchType === SearchType.All || searchType === SearchType.Users
+        ? this.searchUsers(searchPattern, skip, limit)
+        : Promise.resolve([]),
+      searchType === SearchType.All || searchType === SearchType.Competitions
+        ? this.searchCompetitions(searchPattern, skip, limit)
+        : Promise.resolve([]),
+    ]);
+
+    const total = markets.length + users.length + competitions.length;
+
+    return { markets, users, competitions, total, page, limit };
+  }
+
+  private async searchMarkets(
+    pattern: string,
+    skip: number,
+    limit: number,
+  ): Promise<Market[]> {
+    return this.marketsRepository
+      .createQueryBuilder('market')
+      .select([
+        'market.id',
+        'market.title',
+        'market.description',
+        'market.category',
+        'market.is_resolved',
+        'market.is_public',
+        'market.participant_count',
+        'market.created_at',
+      ])
+      .where('market.is_public = :isPublic', { isPublic: true })
+      .andWhere(
+        '(market.title ILIKE :pattern OR market.description ILIKE :pattern)',
+        { pattern },
+      )
+      .orderBy('market.created_at', 'DESC')
+      .skip(skip)
+      .take(limit)
+      .getMany();
+  }
+
+  private async searchUsers(
+    pattern: string,
+    skip: number,
+    limit: number,
+  ): Promise<User[]> {
+    return this.usersRepository
+      .createQueryBuilder('user')
+      .select([
+        'user.id',
+        'user.username',
+        'user.stellar_address',
+        'user.avatar_url',
+        'user.reputation_score',
+        'user.total_predictions',
+      ])
+      .where('user.is_banned = :banned', { banned: false })
+      .andWhere(
+        '(user.username ILIKE :pattern OR user.stellar_address ILIKE :pattern)',
+        { pattern },
+      )
+      .orderBy('user.reputation_score', 'DESC')
+      .skip(skip)
+      .take(limit)
+      .getMany();
+  }
+
+  private async searchCompetitions(
+    pattern: string,
+    skip: number,
+    limit: number,
+  ): Promise<Competition[]> {
+    return this.competitionsRepository
+      .createQueryBuilder('competition')
+      .select([
+        'competition.id',
+        'competition.title',
+        'competition.description',
+        'competition.start_time',
+        'competition.end_time',
+        'competition.participant_count',
+        'competition.visibility',
+      ])
+      .where('competition.visibility = :visibility', {
+        visibility: CompetitionVisibility.Public,
+      })
+      .andWhere(
+        '(competition.title ILIKE :pattern OR competition.description ILIKE :pattern)',
+        { pattern },
+      )
+      .orderBy('competition.created_at', 'DESC')
+      .skip(skip)
+      .take(limit)
+      .getMany();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/seasons/seasons.controller.ts b/backend/src/seasons/seasons.controller.ts
index 40b0d203..99f5e4af 100644
--- a/backend/src/seasons/seasons.controller.ts
+++ b/backend/src/seasons/seasons.controller.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,22 @@ export class SeasonsController {
     return this.seasonsService.findActive();
   }
 
+  @Public()
+  @Get('current')
+  @ApiOperation({
+    summary: 'Get the current active season (public)',
+    description:
+      'Alias for /active. Returns the season that is currently active based on `is_active` flag and time window. Responds with 404 when none qualifies.',
+  })
+  @ApiResponse({ status: 200, description: 'Current season', type: Season })
+  @ApiResponse({
+    status: 404,
+    description: 'No season is active for the current time',
+  })
+  async getCurrent(): Promise<Season> {
+    return this.seasonsService.findActive();
+  }
+
   @Public()
   @Get()
   @UsePipes(