Coinbase is stepping up its artificial intelligence strategy, with CEO Brian Armstrong revealing that the company is now testing AI agents embedded directly into workplace tools like Slack and email.

The move is part of a broader effort to integrate AI deeper into daily operations and automate internal workflows.

AI Agents Enter the Workplace

According to Armstrong, Coinbase has already deployed two AI agents designed to assist employees with various tasks.

These agents operate within communication platforms like Slack and email, helping teams streamline decision-making, generate insights, and improve productivity.

Armstrong suggested that in the near future, employees could easily create their own custom AI agents tailored to specific roles or teams.

AI Could Outnumber Human Employees

Looking ahead, Armstrong made a bold prediction.

He believes AI agents could soon outnumber human employees at Coinbase, as the company continues to automate more of its operations.

This aligns with his earlier goal of having more than 50% of Coinbase’s code generated by AI, as well as transforming its workforce into what he calls “AI-native.”

Meet Fred and Balaji

Coinbase’s first two AI agents are modeled after key figures from the company’s history.

Fred, named after co-founder Fred Ehrsam, acts as a strategic assistant, helping employees align priorities and offering high-level guidance.

Balaji, inspired by former CTO Balaji Srinivasan, is designed to challenge ideas and encourage creative thinking, pushing teams to explore new approaches.

Together, the agents are intended to balance structured decision-making with innovation.

AI and Crypto Converging

Coinbase has also been investing in the intersection of AI and blockchain.

In 2025, the company introduced the x402 protocol, which enables AI agents to make payments using both crypto and fiat systems.

This positions AI as an active participant in digital economies rather than just a support tool.

Industry Sees AI Agents as Future Users

The broader crypto industry increasingly expects AI agents to become major users of blockchain networks.

Armstrong recently predicted that AI agents could soon conduct more online transactions than humans.

Other industry leaders have echoed similar views, suggesting that billions of AI agents could be transacting onchain within the next few years.

Automation Trend Accelerates Across Tech

Coinbase’s move reflects a wider trend across the tech sector, where companies are adopting AI to automate workflows and reduce reliance on manual processes.

As AI capabilities improve, businesses are rethinking how work gets done, shifting toward systems where humans and AI collaborate more closely.

A Glimpse Into the Future of Work

By embedding AI agents into everyday tools, Coinbase is experimenting with a new model of workplace productivity.

If successful, this approach could reshape how companies operate, with AI handling routine tasks, supporting decision-making, and even driving innovation alongside human teams.

Prediction market platform Polymarket is reportedly seeking to raise $400 million in new funding, potentially valuing the company at $15 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The move highlights growing institutional interest in the rapidly expanding prediction markets sector.

Fresh Capital to Fuel Growth

The reported funding round would add to a recent influx of capital into Polymarket.

In late March, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested $600 million into the platform.

Polymarket is now looking to bring in additional strategic investors, with the total raise potentially reaching as much as $1 billion.

Competition Heats Up

Despite the sizable valuation, Polymarket would still trail competitor Kalshi, which was valued at around $22 billion in its most recent funding round.

The rivalry reflects increasing competition as traditional financial firms move into the prediction market space.

Rapid Growth in Trading Volume

Prediction markets have seen explosive growth since the 2024 US election cycle.

Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi are now regularly recording more than $10 billion in monthly trading volume, covering a wide range of topics including politics, sports, finance, and cultural events.

This surge in activity has attracted attention from major Wall Street players.

Traditional Finance Moves In

Several established financial institutions are exploring opportunities in prediction markets.

Nasdaq has already filed to introduce binary-style contracts tied to the Nasdaq-100 index, while Cboe Global Markets is preparing its own offering.

Meanwhile, CME Group has partnered with FanDuel to expand into event-based trading beyond traditional financial instruments.

Firms like Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities are also reportedly considering entering the space.

Regulatory Challenges Persist

Despite the momentum, prediction markets continue to face legal and regulatory hurdles.

Kalshi is currently involved in a legal dispute with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which argues that its contracts resemble unlicensed gambling.

The outcome of this case could have broader implications for how prediction markets are regulated in the United States, with some experts suggesting it could reach the Supreme Court.

A Growing Financial Frontier

Polymarket’s fundraising efforts come at a time when prediction markets are evolving into a new financial frontier.

As institutional interest accelerates and platforms expand their offerings, the sector is increasingly blurring the lines between trading, forecasting, and gambling.

The team behind eth.limo, a key gateway for Ethereum Name Service domains, has confirmed that its recent domain hijack was the result of a targeted social engineering attack against its DNS provider, EasyDNS.

The incident briefly raised concerns across the crypto community, as eth.limo plays a critical role in connecting decentralized websites to traditional web browsers.

Attack Exploited Account Recovery Process

According to the project’s post-mortem, the attacker impersonated a member of the eth.limo team to initiate an account recovery request with EasyDNS.

This allowed the attacker to gain control of the domain account and modify its DNS settings.

Once access was secured, the attacker changed the nameserver records and redirected traffic through Cloudflare, potentially opening the door to phishing or malicious redirects.

Critical Infrastructure at Risk

eth.limo acts as a bridge between Web3 and Web2, enabling access to around 2 million .eth websites through standard browsers.

A successful hijack could have redirected users to harmful sites without their knowledge.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin even warned users to avoid his blog during the incident until the issue was resolved.

DNSSEC Helped Limit Damage

Despite the breach, major damage was avoided thanks to Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).

Because the attacker did not have the correct cryptographic signing keys, most DNS resolvers rejected the forged records.

As a result, users encountered errors instead of being redirected to malicious content, significantly reducing the potential impact.

Both eth.limo and EasyDNS credited DNSSEC with preventing a much more serious outcome.

EasyDNS Accepts Responsibility

EasyDNS CEO Mark Jeftovic acknowledged the failure, calling it the first successful social engineering attack against a client in the company’s 28-year history.

He described the incident as highly sophisticated and confirmed that an internal investigation is ongoing.

Security Upgrades Underway

In response, EasyDNS is implementing stronger safeguards.

The company plans to migrate eth.limo to its more secure Domainsure platform, which removes account recovery mechanisms altogether, a key vulnerability exploited in this attack.

Additional security improvements are also being rolled out to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Part of a Broader Trend

The eth.limo breach is the latest in a string of domain hijacking incidents targeting crypto-related platforms.

Recent cases involving projects like CoW Swap and Steakhouse Financial highlight a growing trend of attackers exploiting human vulnerabilities rather than technical flaws.

Ongoing Vigilance Needed

While no user impact has been confirmed so far, the incident underscores the importance of robust security practices across both Web2 and Web3 infrastructure.

As crypto adoption grows, protecting critical access points like domain services will remain essential to maintaining trust and preventing large-scale exploits.