During the 2026 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, host Trevor Noah went viral after an offhand remark had him being accused of insider trading.
The clip, which has been seen close to 17 million times on X at the time of writing, has Noah stopping in the middle of welcoming viewers and strangely saying the word “potato” several times.
The host then explained he did it to make sure a certain option won on Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction platform.
“If you had me saying ‘potato’ on Polymarket, you just made a ton of money,” he said, before calling out a username. “Noah_22, whoever that is.”
Trevor Noah was accused of insider trading by Grammy viewers after referencing a crypto prediction site live
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Almost immediately, viewers began asking whether the comedian had just admitted to insider trading on live television, or whether the line was simply a joke that landed too close to a legal gray area.
The controversy centered on Polymarket, a platform that allows users to wager currency on the outcomes of real-world events, including elections, court cases, pop culture moments, and more.
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At the time of the Grammys, Polymarket was running a live bet titled, “What will be said during the Grammys?”, allowing users to bet on whether specific words would be spoken on stage.
The listed options included “The Chicks,” “Oscars,” “Gay/Queer,” “Disney,” “Bitcoin,” “Gender,” “Billie,” “ICE,” “Trump,” “Super Bowl,” “Epstein,” “Taylor,” and “Justin.”
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Interestingly, “potato” was not one of them. Since the word was never a valid wager, there was no legitimate way for anyone to profit from Trevor Noah saying it.
Still, the explanation did little to stop the speculation.
“Did he just admit to insider trading on live TV or is this supposed to be a joke?” one viewer asked.
“That’s the joke, that Polymarket is an insider trading platform,” another added.
Prediction markets have been criticized for operating in a legal gray area, functioning in ways similar to gambling sites while avoiding the label
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As the clip spread, online commentary fractured into camps. Some accused Noah of joking about a crime, while others argued that even if the line was meant as a joke, it still promoted what they viewed as a predatory product.
“I wonder how much Polymarket paid him for this,” a user wrote.
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Funded in 202, Polymarket itself operates in a legal gray area that has drawn increasing scrutiny from regulators. The term “prediction market,” has been criticized by some as being nothing but a legally ambiguous way to say “gambling.”
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The platform allows users to wager cryptocurrency on real-world outcomes that, in traditional markets, would fall under gambling or financial derivatives.
While Polymarket restricts access to US users on paper, critics argue the barrier is porous and largely symbolic, raising questions about consumer protection, market manipulation, and whether insiders with advanced knowledge can influence outcomes.
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For detractors, Noah’s joke touched on those unresolved concerns, even if no actual wager was triggered in this case. For supporters, the comment was so obviously a joke that the outrage felt out of proportion.
“Dang it, I had tomato,” one user joked. “I had poe-TAH-toe. Sooooo close,” another added.
“There wasn’t even a real betting line for this, this is called a joke,” a fan replied.
“Being that he’s a comedian hosting an award show in front of a national audience I’m going to assume it’s a joke,” another pointed out.
The joke echoed a real incident in which Coinbase’s CEO cited terms he was tracking on a prediction platform during an earnings call
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Polymarket reacted to the controversy, posting a clip of Noah’s line on X with the caption, “What is happening?”
The moment was not without precedent.
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During a 2025 earnings call, Brian Armstrong, the chief executive officer of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, rattled off a string of terms including “Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain, staking and Web3.”
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He later explained that he had been watching live prediction markets tracking which words would be said.
Armstrong later said the moment occurred after someone dropped a link to the market in an internal chat. Those bets were hosted on platforms such as Kalshi, another prediction market operator.
For viewers, Noah’s line was either a knowing wink, a poorly timed gag, an accidental brush with a sensitive topic, or simply all of the above.
“He just made an insider trading joke. If you think it’s real, well… Good luck with life,” a user wrote.
“He is ragebaiting.” Viewers debated the meaning of Noah joke on social media
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