During a recent earnings call, Coinbase Global Inc. CEO Brian Armstrong expressed the company’s potential to expand into the prediction market space. Although currently partnered with Kalshi, a platform for prediction markets, Armstrong emphasized that Coinbase retains the capability to create its own market venue. “It’s not an exclusive arrangement,” he noted, indicating that the door remains open for future developments, though he did not provide specific plans at this time.
Coinbase recently launched its prediction market service nationwide, coinciding with the highly anticipated Super Bowl LX. This timing proved advantageous, as the volume of wagers associated with the game reportedly surged by 2,700% year-over-year, with over $1 billion wagered. Armstrong remarked on the robust interest in the service, highlighting Super Bowl weekend as a significant milestone for new customers.
In addition to its new offerings, Coinbase attempted to engage viewers with a karaoke-style advertisement during the Super Bowl. However, the ad fell short of expectations and ended up trending as the lowest-rated commercial the day following the event.
On the financial side, Coinbase reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.78 billion, which was below analyst expectations, even though the earnings per share of $0.66 surpassed forecasts. For the entire fiscal year, the company’s revenue reached $7.2 billion, marking a 9% increase compared to the previous year.
Coinbase also faced a brief system outage that hindered user trading, though the Coinbase Support team later confirmed the issue had been resolved, minimizing disruption for its clients.
As the company navigates this evolving landscape, the ongoing interest in its prediction market offerings and improvements in its service infrastructure will likely play crucial roles in defining its future growth and market position.
