Coinbase CEO Defends Sports Betting Features, Pledges Enhanced Protections on June 28

According to Zcash founder Zooko, Coinbase has begun promoting sports betting and cryptocurrency price prediction features to younger and less experienced users, prompting concerns about the platform targeting vulnerable demographics. On June 28, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded that adults should have the freedom to manage their own money, noting that early Bitcoin adoption and stock purchases are often viewed as "gambling" despite being legitimate investments.

Armstrong acknowledged that aggressively promoting high-risk products to inexperienced users is inappropriate, distinguishing between offering products and featuring them prominently. He proposed mitigation measures including clearer disclosures, AI-driven financial education tools, and user preference settings allowing customers to enable or disable feature categories during signup.