Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stirred controversy on Thursday after admitting he deliberately mentioned specific cryptocurrency-related terms during the company’s third-quarter earnings call to influence ongoing prediction markets.
Toward the end of the call, Armstrong confessed he was “a little bit distracted,” tracking wagers on whether words like “Bitcoin,” “Ethereum,” “Blockchain,” “Staking,” and “Web3” would be spoken. He then uttered each term, allowing some bettors on Kalshi and Polymarket to win their wagers. His lighthearted remark quickly drew widespread criticism for manipulating an active market.
According to Bloomberg, users on the two prediction platforms had placed roughly $84,000 in total bets on whether certain words would be said during the call. While Armstrong’s offhand comments may have seemed playful, industry experts viewed them as irresponsible. Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer at Arca, criticized the move on X (formerly Twitter), writing that it was “not cute or clever” but rather damaging to efforts to legitimize crypto as a serious asset class. “It’s not fun working tirelessly for eight years to educate institutional investors while one of the supposed ‘leaders’ openly mocks the industry with crap like this,” Dorman added.
Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket allow users to bet on the outcomes of real-world events — in this case, whether certain words would appear on a corporate earnings call. Armstrong’s actions highlighted how easily such markets can be manipulated once insiders become aware of them. While Polymarket jokingly described Armstrong’s comments as “diabolical work,” others warned the incident could raise regulatory and ethical questions about the intersection between public company disclosures and gambling-based platforms.
Coinbase, notably, has both invested in and begun supporting prediction markets through its “Everything Exchange” platform, a development Armstrong promoted earlier in the same call. A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that Coinbase employees are prohibited from participating in prediction markets or related activities involving the company.
After the backlash, Armstrong attempted to downplay the episode, posting on X, “lol this was fun — happened spontaneously when someone on our team dropped a link in the chat.” However, his comments have reignited debate over executive conduct, market integrity, and the growing overlap between cryptocurrency, speculation, and online gaming.