Coinbase boss Brian Armstrong shook up two prediction markets in the final seconds of Thursday’s third-quarter earnings call by dropping a list of crypto buzzwords that Kalshi and Polymarket users bet would be mentioned in the call, resolving all markets to a “yes.”
Several Kalshi and Polymarket users were ecstatic that their bets paid off in the final seconds. In contrast, others were understandably rattled to hear that a prediction market could be so easily upended.
“I was a little distracted because I was tracking the predictions market about what Coinbase will say in their next earnings call, and I just want to add here, the words Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain, staking, and Web3, make sure we get those in before the end of the call,” said Armstrong.
The “What will Coinbase say during their next earnings call” markets from Kalshi and Polymarket saw $80,242 and $3,912 worth of bets placed.
That included 24 punters on Polymarket, where fortunately, no one lost more than $12 on a single bet.
Armstrong later on X said it happened “spontaneously when someone on our team dropped a [prediction markets] link in the chat.”
lol this was fun – happened spontaneously when someone on our team dropped a link in the chat https://t.co/tQiV3B9jUj
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) October 31, 2025
Armstrong seemed to please more punters than not
Almost every punter in the comments section was pleased with Armstrong’s last-minute decision to list the crypto buzzwords not mentioned earlier.
“HAHAHAH THE GOAT BRIAN,” Polymarket user TheMasterMind said, while Kalshi users Redbullfool and Chungboy thanked Armstrong for the “gift.”
While prediction markets are powerful tools for gauging expectations, they rely on the trust that insiders won’t won’t exploit their knowledge for personal gain.
Actions like this have previously raised suspicions of insider trading and market manipulation.
Coinbase performed well in Q3
Although the earnings call had an unusual conclusion, Coinbase delivered another profitable quarter, with $432.6 million in net income and $1.9 billion in revenue, representing a 55% increase from the same quarter in the previous year.
Coinbase also increased its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings by 2,772 BTC to 14,458 BTC — putting it back in the top 10 largest corporate Bitcoin holding companies, BitcoinTreasuries.NET data shows.