Crypto exchange Coinbase to lay off 14% of staff as AI reshapes work

Cryptocurrency speech Coinbase said it’s slashing astir 14% of its workforce, oregon astir 700 workers, partially due to the fact that artificial quality is reshaping the mode radical work.

“The biggest hazard present is not taking action. We are adjusting aboriginal and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to beryllium lean, fast, and AI-native,” Coinbase Chief Executive and co-founder Brian Armstrong said successful a Tuesday email to employees.

The email, which was posted connected societal media, said engineers with the assistance of AI are completing enactment successful days alternatively than weeks. As much tasks get automated, that’s made it imaginable for the institution to thin connected smaller teams.

The institution besides cited different factors contributing to the occupation losses, including the volatility of the cryptocurrency business.

Founded successful San Francisco, Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency speech successful the United States. Millions of radical usage its level to buy, sell, transportation and store cryptocurrency specified arsenic Bitcoin.

Coinbase is among tech companies that person been laying disconnected workers and pointing to however AI is making workers much productive. Although immoderate experts accidental the relation AI has been playing is overblown, advancements successful exertion person besides made it imaginable to make codification and automate different tasks. Companies are besides spending much connected artificial intelligence, immoderate gathering caller AI-powered gadgets oregon gathering retired caller information centers.

This year, companies specified arsenic Block, Meta, Oracle and much person announced they’re slashing thousands of workers. From January to March, tech companies person announced 52,050 layoffs, up 40% from the aforesaid play past year, according to outplacement and enforcement coaching steadfast Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Coinbase is besides changing however it operates, Armstrong told employees. It’s reducing absorption layers and immoderate leaders volition oversee 15 workers oregon more, his email said. Managers volition run similar “player-coaches” and it’s experimenting with “one idiosyncratic teams” successful which the relation of an engineer, decorator and merchandise manager are portion of 1 position.

“AI is bringing a profound displacement successful however companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to pb successful this caller era,” Armstrong told employees. “This is simply a caller mode of working, and we request to leverage AI crossed each facet of our jobs.”

Coinbase mostly makes wealth from cryptocurrency transaction fees, but trading enactment has slowed. In the 4th fourth of 2025, the institution reported full gross of astir $1.8 billion, missing analysts’ expectations. The institution posted a nett nonaccomplishment of $667 cardinal during that quarter, which it partially attributed to losses successful definite strategical investments.

As of December, Coinbase had much than 4,900 employees, according to its website. Although the institution leased bureau abstraction successful San Francisco, it has allowed employees to enactment remotely and doesn’t person a carnal headquarters.

Coinbase’s stock terms fell much than 2% connected Tuesday to $197.75.