Coinbase Announces Further Layoffs, Cutting Headcount by 950 Employees

By Andrew Asmakov and Liam J. Kelly

Crypto exchange Coinbase today announced more sweeping layoffs, citing "the ongoing market conditions impacting the cryptoeconomy."

In an 8-K filing with the SEC, the firm said that this restructuring would cut the firm's headcount by approximately 950 employees. The cost to do so, tallying severance packages, could range up to $163 million.

The layoffs are expected to conclude by the second quarter of 2023, the filing continues.

“I've made the difficult decision to reduce our operating expense by about 25% Q/Q, which includes letting go of about 950 people. All impacted team members will be informed by today,” CEO Brian Armstrong wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

According to the CEO, the crypto market “saw the fallout from unscrupulous actors in the industry, and there could still be further contagion” meaning Coinbase, while being “well capitalized,” still needs to preserve cash. He expects more regulatory clarity after the fallout of a large competitor, expressing his belief that recent events “will ultimately end up benefiting Coinbase greatly,” validating the firm’s long-term strategy.

“But it will take time for these changes to come to fruition and we need to make sure we have the appropriate operational efficiency to weather downturns in the crypto market, and capture opportunities that may emerge,” added Coinbase’s boss.

Coinbase tightens its belt

Coinbase first began slimming its workforce back in June 2022, announcing an 18% cut to its workforce, or roughly 1,100 employees. At that time, Armstrong said that "it is now clear to me that we over-hired," adding that the firm needed to "plan for the worst."

Coinbase is currently the second-largest crypto exchange in the market based on 24-hour volume. CoinGecko reports that in the past day, the platform has stewarded over $1.8 billion in trades.

In comparison, market leader Binance has hosted more than $13 billion in trades.

The San Francisco-based Coinbase went public on the Nasdaq exchange in April 2021 and has seen the price of its stock plummet since then.

COIN, which once traded at $324, fell to an all-time low of $32.40 per share at the end of December, before jumping 15% on Monday to $38.42.

Coinbase’s shares fell 2.7% in pre-market trading Tuesday, changing hands at $37.23 at the time of writing.

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