Coinbase's AI System Hallucinated a World Cup Result Before the Match Even Started

Coinbase’s AI-generated news system drew scrutiny over the weekend after sending users a false alert that reported the outcome of a World Cup match hours before players took the field.

The alert, sent Sunday, claimed Norway defeated Brazil 3-2 in a World Cup knockout match at MetLife Stadium, with Erling Haaland scoring twice. The match had not yet started, however, and Coinbase’s prediction market page still showed the game as delayed.

Screenshots of the notification circulated on X, prompting Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to say he was looking into the issue. Max Branzburg, Coinbase’s head of consumer and business products, later said the company fixed the error and updated its systems.

“We fixed the incorrect story and made some updates to avoid these types of inaccuracies in the future,” Branzburg wrote on X. “It’s awesome to see the power of AI-enabled 24/7 insights for trading, but obviously still need to tune it to address these types of issues.”

While the final match result was different from the alert, Norway ultimately defeated Brazil 2-1 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with Haaland scoring twice in the second half.

“And hey—it turns out Norway did win and Haaland did score 2 goals, so maybe the AI knew something we didn’t!” Branzburg said.

Coinbase declined to comment further, instead referring Decrypt to Branzburg’s statement on X.

The error comes as Coinbase moves beyond crypto trading, adding AI-powered tools and prediction markets as part of its push to expand beyond simple cryptocurrency trading on its platform. In January, Coinbase rolled out prediction markets through Kalshi, allowing users to trade event contracts tied to sports, elections, economic data, and other real-world outcomes.

Coinbase has also increased its focus on AI agents, rolling out tools designed to automate parts of the crypto experience, including AI-powered wallets and agents that autonomously interact with blockchain applications.