Coinbase Users Push Back Against Prediction-Market and Sports-Betting Notifications
Coinbase announced its entry into the U.S. prediction market in December 2025 and launched event contracts through Kalshi in January 2026, allowing users to manage them alongside crypto assets, stocks and cash positions. The business has become part of a jurisdictional dispute between the CFTC and state gambling authorities. Coinbase has also sued regulators in Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan.
On March 26, 2026, users reported receiving three college basketball notifications within an hour and criticized Coinbase for repeatedly promoting sports-event contracts during March Madness. CEO Brian Armstrong said on March 27 that the alerts resulted from a bug in push-notification targeting. He apologized and said the company was working on a fix. Coinbase did not disclose the number of affected users or any related amounts.
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The history behind this eventCoinbase AI Sparks Backlash by Pushing World Cup Result Before Kickoff
Coinbase is expanding beyond cryptocurrency trading into prediction markets, AI advisers and stock options as it seeks to build an “Everything Exchange.” Match results could influence users’ decisions and bets, but the AI presented an event that had not happened as breaking news, highlighting the risks of unchecked real-time content. The company did not disclose any related trading volumes or losses.
At 10:26 a.m. Eastern Time on July 5, 2026, Coinbase sent an alert saying Norway had beaten Brazil 3–2 at MetLife Stadium, with Erling Haaland scoring twice. But weather delayed the match until 4 p.m. A July 6 report said CEO Brian Armstrong had launched an investigation, while the company said it had corrected the error and updated the system.
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