Coinbase CEO Buzzwords Trigger $84K Payouts

At the end of Coinbase's Q3 2025 earnings call, CEO Brian Armstrong recited five crypto buzzwords—"Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain, staking, and Web3"—which resolved Kalshi and Polymarket mention markets and paid out bettors. Roughly $84,000 was wagered across those markets (about $80,242 on Kalshi and $3,912 on Polymarket). Armstrong later said the move was spontaneous after a team member shared a prediction-market link. The episode highlighted a broader vulnerability in prediction markets: thin liquidity can let relatively small sums sway prices and shift signals from information to capital, prompting split reactions from users and industry figures, with some calling the act manipulative and others praising it. Coinbase reported a strong quarter, beating estimates with roughly $1.9 billion in revenue and about $433 million in net income, and said employees are prohibited from participating in such markets. The company also pointed to growth initiatives like the "Everything Exchange" and recent acquisitions as drivers of momentum.