Coinbase: Final words in the Q3 call lead to surprising gains

INFBusiness
02.11.2025
Markets

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong delivered an unexpected twist at the end of the third-quarter earnings call. In the final seconds, he dropped a string of crypto buzzwords—Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain, staking, and Web3—triggering bets on two prediction platforms: Kalshi and Polymarket. These platforms were betting on which terms would be mentioned during the call. Armstrong's spontaneous remark nearly won all of the open bets at the last second—he avoided the terms “shutdown” and “crypto winter.”
“I was a little distracted because I’m following the prediction market for what we’re going to say on this call—so here’s a quick one: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain, Staking, and Web3,” Armstrong joked toward the end of the call. Bets totaling approximately $80,000 and $3,900 were placed on Kalshi and Polymarket, respectively.
Later, Armstrong explained on X that the stunt was “spontaneous” after someone on his team shared a link to the prediction markets in an internal chat. The video clip went viral on X, with many in the crypto community reacting with amusement. Anthony Pompliano commented: “At the end of today's earnings call, Brian Armstrong opened a prediction market and listed all the terms participants had bet he would say: Legend.”
The humorous ending capped off a strong quarter for Coinbase. The company achieved total revenue of $1.87 billion, a 25 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. Net income amounted to $433 million, while transaction volume grew by 37 percent to approximately $1 billion. Read more here: Coinbase impresses in Q3 – stablecoins and derivatives are booming

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