Coinbase senior execs have said prediction markets allow users to “bet” and that the product is a “fun activity”, in stark contrast to the rest of the sector’s trading-style rhetoric.
Speaking at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on Wednesday, 20 May, COO Emilie Choi and CFO Alesia Haas explained how prediction markets could be bundled with the firm’s existing product suite.
Coinbase, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, rolled out prediction markets via Kalshi in January.
The business then snapped up The Clearing Company to build out its own prediction markets product.
In its Q1 earnings, Coinbase said prediction markets were one of its “fastest scaling products ever”, reaching $100m in annualised revenue in less than two months.
Choi and Haas’ comments at the JP Morgan event aligned the offering with betting and wagering, with the comments standing in stark contrast to others in the sector who insist prediction markets are a form of trading, amid a series of legal disputes.
Choi said: “Prediction markets are a huge phenomenon. We were sharing last night some of the wagers certain folks had on the primaries or the NBA.
“It’s just a fun activity and I think it’s very engaging for users to be able to make these bets.
“I think our right to win generally is about the bundle. We’re obviously crypto first, but different customers are going to want to be able to access and tap into what they want at any given time.”
Haas added: “What prediction markets offer is almost an opportunity for a daily use case. It’s exciting to see what the world is doing [and] what people are engaged with.
“It creates engagement with our platform. You can take a bet on global politics on one platform and express that over equities, prediction markets, future and crypto.
“As the world becomes more complex, and the opportunities to take bets [arise], we are now the most comprehensive platform that people can express those views.”
Prediction markets have been keen to distant themselves from sports betting rhetoric, with the likes of Kalshi arguing it is regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
State-level gaming regulators insist the product is effectively a form of sports betting. Kalshi and a host of other operators have faced legal challenges across the US.
A press release from January 2025 announcing Kalshi’s launch of sports event contracts makes no reference to betting.
The PR reads: “Since Kalshi operates as an exchange, you’re placing trades, not making wagers. That might sound like a technicality, but it’s an important distinction that benefits consumers.
“When you use a sportsbook, you are in direct competition with the house. When you use Kalshi, you are trading on our platform, not against our platform.
“On Kalshi, you trade against real people in an open, transparent and fair marketplace. Just like a stock market, prices shift as supply and demand change, causing the odds of each outcome to fluctuate.”
Meanwhile, Polymarket’s US arm has filed an application with the CFTC to offer parlay-like sports event contracts, though the company refers to them as ‘combinatoric athletic outcome contracts’. Kalshi calls these types of contracts ‘combos’.
It was announced this week that Kalshi has pledged donated $2m to the National Council on Problem Gambling, with the organisation creating the ‘Financial Services & Trading’ subcategory to allow the firm to join.
Speaking on the investment, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said: “At Kalshi, we believe in the power of prediction markets, and we are sensitive to the fact that they, like any financial trading products, come with risks.
“As prediction markets continue to evolve, we are deeply committed to setting a new standard for responsible trading by investing in the tools, education and protections needed to promote healthy participation and customer safety and hope that over time all trading platforms with significant retail participation follow suit.”
The post Coinbase bosses break rank to call prediction markets “bets” and “wagers” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Comments from COO and CFO at JP Morgan event mark a striking departure from the trading-and-swaps framing used by other exchanges and the derivatives regulator
The post Coinbase bosses break rank to call prediction markets “bets” and “wagers” first appeared on EGR Intel.