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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong trolls the prediction markets | TechCrunch

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong trolls the prediction markets | TechCrunch

On Thursday, at the end of Coinbase’s third quarter earnings call, CEO Brian Armstrong admitted that he was “a little bit distracted,” because he’d been “tracking the prediction market about what Coinbase will say on their next earnings call.”

“And I just want to add here the words Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain, Staking, and Web3 to make sure we get those in before the end of the call,” Armstrong added.

Why blurt those out without any apparent context? As Armstrong hinted, they were words that users on “mention markets” on Kalshi and Polymarket had wagered would be spoken on the call. So by speaking the words, Armstrong was allowing some of those bets to pay off.

Bloomberg reports that while mention markets remain a relatively niche part of prediction markets, a total of $84,000 had been bet on whether certain words would be spoken on the cryptocurrency company’s call. And while Armstrong may have helped some Kalshi and Polymarket users make a little money, he was also illustrating how easily these markets can be manipulated when executives become aware of them.

In fact, Jeff Dorman, CIO at digital assets investment firm Arca, wrote on X that “you need your head examined if you think it’s cute or clever or savvy that the CEO of the biggest company in this industry openly manipulated a market.”

“It’s not fun working tirelessly for 8 years trying to educate institutional investors on the value of crypto investing as an investable asset class, and working to help them gain comfort in this industry, while one of the supposed ‘leaders’ openly mocks the industry with crap like this,” Dorman said.

Polymarket, meanwhile, posted that Armstrong’s comments were “diabolical work.”

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Coinbase is moving into supporting prediction markets itself through its Everything Exchange, which Armstrong touted on the earnings call, and the company has also invested in Kalshi and Polymarket. A Coinbase spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company prohibits employees from participating in prediction markets or related activity around the company.

After Armstrong’s remarks began drawing attention, he wrote on X, “lol this was fun – happened spontaneously when someone on our team dropped a link in the chat.”

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#Coinbase #CEO #Brian #Armstrong #trolls #prediction #markets #TechCrunch

Thanks to BTS member J-Hope, we now have our first look at Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide in the wild, ahead of the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event.

According to a report from 9to5Google’s Ben Schoon, the singer was filmed using the device during soundcheck footage at a BTS World Tour stop in Paris, with the compiled clips circulating on X. The footage shows J-Hope holding and filming with the device from both front and back angles. The device in the video matches leaked renders of the new wide version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is expected to go head-to-head with the iPhone Ultra Fold later this year.

The clips show a purple finish, though the phone isn’t shown unfolded, leaving its inner display still unseen. Samsung maintains a marketing partnership with BTS, and 9to5Google suggested the phone was likely supplied to J-Hope through that relationship rather than as an intentional early reveal.

The device is widely expected to carry the Galaxy Z Fold 8 name, though as we’ve noted, the branding may cause confusion. This version reportedly isn’t a direct successor to last year’s Z Fold 7, with that role instead going to a separate Z Fold 8 Ultra.

In our guide to Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide leaks, the reported specs point to a 5.5-inch external display, 7.6-inch internal display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 12GB RAM, and a 4,800mAh battery, alongside a camera setup: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, dual 10MP selfie. This marks a step down from the Z Fold 7’s 200MP main sensor.

Samsung is set to formally unveil the device alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and new smartwatches at the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event in London.

Mashable will be at Samsung’s London event, so check back on Wednesday for our live blog and the latest Galaxy Unpacked news.

#wide #Galaxy #Fold #revealed #BTS #member #JHope">The new, wide Galaxy Z Fold 8 revealed by BTS member J-Hope
                                                            Thanks to BTS member J-Hope, we now have our first look at Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide in the wild, ahead of the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event.According to a report from 9to5Google’s Ben Schoon, the singer was filmed using the device during soundcheck footage at a BTS World Tour stop in Paris, with the compiled clips circulating on X. The footage shows J-Hope holding and filming with the device from both front and back angles. The device in the video matches leaked renders of the new wide version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is expected to go head-to-head with the iPhone Ultra Fold later this year.
    
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The clips show a purple finish, though the phone isn’t shown unfolded, leaving its inner display still unseen. Samsung maintains a marketing partnership with BTS, and 9to5Google suggested the phone was likely supplied to J-Hope through that relationship rather than as an intentional early reveal.
        
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The device is widely expected to carry the Galaxy Z Fold 8 name, though as we’ve noted, the branding may cause confusion. This version reportedly isn’t a direct successor to last year’s Z Fold 7, with that role instead going to a separate Z Fold 8 Ultra.In our guide to Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide leaks, the reported specs point to a 5.5-inch external display, 7.6-inch internal display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 12GB RAM, and a 4,800mAh battery, alongside a camera setup: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, dual 10MP selfie. This marks a step down from the Z Fold 7’s 200MP main sensor.
Samsung is set to formally unveil the device alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and new smartwatches at the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event in London.
        SEE ALSO:
        
            Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 leaks, see the sleek new wearable
            
        
    
Mashable will be at Samsung’s London event, so check back on Wednesday for our live blog and the latest Galaxy Unpacked news.

                    
                                            
                            
                        
                                    #wide #Galaxy #Fold #revealed #BTS #member #JHope

BTS member J-Hope, we now have our first look at Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide in the wild, ahead of the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event.

According to a report from 9to5Google’s Ben Schoon, the singer was filmed using the device during soundcheck footage at a BTS World Tour stop in Paris, with the compiled clips circulating on X. The footage shows J-Hope holding and filming with the device from both front and back angles. The device in the video matches leaked renders of the new wide version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is expected to go head-to-head with the iPhone Ultra Fold later this year.

The clips show a purple finish, though the phone isn’t shown unfolded, leaving its inner display still unseen. Samsung maintains a marketing partnership with BTS, and 9to5Google suggested the phone was likely supplied to J-Hope through that relationship rather than as an intentional early reveal.

The device is widely expected to carry the Galaxy Z Fold 8 name, though as we’ve noted, the branding may cause confusion. This version reportedly isn’t a direct successor to last year’s Z Fold 7, with that role instead going to a separate Z Fold 8 Ultra.

In our guide to Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide leaks, the reported specs point to a 5.5-inch external display, 7.6-inch internal display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 12GB RAM, and a 4,800mAh battery, alongside a camera setup: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, dual 10MP selfie. This marks a step down from the Z Fold 7’s 200MP main sensor.

Samsung is set to formally unveil the device alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and new smartwatches at the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event in London.

Mashable will be at Samsung’s London event, so check back on Wednesday for our live blog and the latest Galaxy Unpacked news.

#wide #Galaxy #Fold #revealed #BTS #member #JHope">The new, wide Galaxy Z Fold 8 revealed by BTS member J-Hope

Thanks to BTS member J-Hope, we now have our first look at Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide in the wild, ahead of the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event.

According to a report from 9to5Google’s Ben Schoon, the singer was filmed using the device during soundcheck footage at a BTS World Tour stop in Paris, with the compiled clips circulating on X. The footage shows J-Hope holding and filming with the device from both front and back angles. The device in the video matches leaked renders of the new wide version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is expected to go head-to-head with the iPhone Ultra Fold later this year.

The clips show a purple finish, though the phone isn’t shown unfolded, leaving its inner display still unseen. Samsung maintains a marketing partnership with BTS, and 9to5Google suggested the phone was likely supplied to J-Hope through that relationship rather than as an intentional early reveal.

The device is widely expected to carry the Galaxy Z Fold 8 name, though as we’ve noted, the branding may cause confusion. This version reportedly isn’t a direct successor to last year’s Z Fold 7, with that role instead going to a separate Z Fold 8 Ultra.

In our guide to Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide leaks, the reported specs point to a 5.5-inch external display, 7.6-inch internal display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 12GB RAM, and a 4,800mAh battery, alongside a camera setup: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, dual 10MP selfie. This marks a step down from the Z Fold 7’s 200MP main sensor.

Samsung is set to formally unveil the device alongside the Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and new smartwatches at the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event in London.

Mashable will be at Samsung’s London event, so check back on Wednesday for our live blog and the latest Galaxy Unpacked news.

#wide #Galaxy #Fold #revealed #BTS #member #JHope
AliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about $629 million) fine for violating Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn’t take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the company “allocated insufficient staff” to verify products, and failed to remove unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics for “multiple weeks” after they were detected.

“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online — it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in the announcement. “Scale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online.”

This is the highest penalty ever imposed under the bloc’s DSA rulebook, followed by rival Chinese retailer Temu, which was also fined more than $230 million for similar DSA infractions in May. AliExpress now has until October 20th 2026 to remedy the breach, or risk facing additional periodic fines.

#AliExpress #fined #million #illegal #product #salesLaw,News,Online Shopping,Policy,Politics,Regulation,Tech">AliExpress fined almost 0 million over illegal product salesAliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about 9 million) fine for violating Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn’t take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the company “allocated insufficient staff” to verify products, and failed to remove unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics for “multiple weeks” after they were detected.“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online — it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in the announcement. “Scale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online.”This is the highest penalty ever imposed under the bloc’s DSA rulebook, followed by rival Chinese retailer Temu, which was also fined more than 0 million for similar DSA infractions in May. AliExpress now has until October 20th 2026 to remedy the breach, or risk facing additional periodic fines.#AliExpress #fined #million #illegal #product #salesLaw,News,Online Shopping,Policy,Politics,Regulation,Tech

European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn’t take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the company “allocated insufficient staff” to verify products, and failed to remove unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics for “multiple weeks” after they were detected.

“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online — it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in the announcement. “Scale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online.”

This is the highest penalty ever imposed under the bloc’s DSA rulebook, followed by rival Chinese retailer Temu, which was also fined more than $230 million for similar DSA infractions in May. AliExpress now has until October 20th 2026 to remedy the breach, or risk facing additional periodic fines.

#AliExpress #fined #million #illegal #product #salesLaw,News,Online Shopping,Policy,Politics,Regulation,Tech">AliExpress fined almost $630 million over illegal product sales

AliExpress has been hit with a €550 million (about $629 million) fine for violating Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products from being sold on the e-commerce platform. The European Commission ruled that AliExpress didn’t take effective measures to reduce the dissemination of illegal products, noting the company “allocated insufficient staff” to verify products, and failed to remove unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics for “multiple weeks” after they were detected.

“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online — it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in the announcement. “Scale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online.”

This is the highest penalty ever imposed under the bloc’s DSA rulebook, followed by rival Chinese retailer Temu, which was also fined more than $230 million for similar DSA infractions in May. AliExpress now has until October 20th 2026 to remedy the breach, or risk facing additional periodic fines.

#AliExpress #fined #million #illegal #product #salesLaw,News,Online Shopping,Policy,Politics,Regulation,Tech

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