Coinbase introduced a 14% discount in its workforce on Tuesday, a call CEO Brian Armstrong described as preparation for what he known as a “new method of working” constructed on synthetic intelligence—not a defensive response to market situations.
In a company-wide electronic mail, Armstrong cited two forces behind the transfer: the persistence of crypto market cycles and a change in how AI has modified the tempo of inner work.
Engineers at Coinbase use AI to ship in days what full groups required weeks to finish, Armstrong wrote, and the tempo of that shift is an acceleration, not a plateau.
Coinbase had 4,951 staff as of December 31, 2025, inserting the variety of affected staff at an estimated 693 folks. Departing U.S. staff will obtain a minimal of 16 weeks of base pay, plus two weeks per yr of service, their subsequent fairness vest, and 6 months of COBRA well being protection.
Staff on work visas obtain further transition help. System entry was minimize on the day of the announcement — a apply Armstrong acknowledged as harsh however defended as a matter of buyer knowledge safety.
The cuts comply with a sample that traces to 2022. In June of that yr, Coinbase eradicated 18% of its workforce — 1,100 roles — as crypto costs fell and recession fears mounted. In January 2023, a second main discount of 20%, overlaying 950 staff, adopted the collapse of FTX and a protracted market contraction. These two rounds minimize headcount by greater than 2,100 folks. Every time, Armstrong positioned the ache as the inspiration for a stronger firm on the opposite facet.
Coinbase: AI is altering our firm
This spherical carries a structural argument the prior two didn’t. The 2022 and 2023 reductions had been market responses. The 2026 restructuring is, in Armstrong’s framing, an AI-driven redesign of how the corporate operates.
He has fired engineers who refused to undertake instruments corresponding to GitHub Copilot and Cursor after securing enterprise licenses for each, and has set a goal of fifty% AI-written code at Coinbase.
The logic of the present cuts extends that mandate: if AI will increase the output of a small staff, a big staff turns into a drag on efficiency.
The org chart adjustments Armstrong outlined are broad. The corporate will flatten to not more than 5 layers beneath the CEO and COO. Each chief should carry an energetic particular person contributor position — a “player-coach” mannequin. Cross-functional “AI-native pods” will change conventional staff buildings, with experiments in one-person groups that fold engineering, design, and product obligations right into a single position.
COIN shares commerce close to $210 in pre-market buying and selling, a fraction of the highs the inventory reached in late 2024.
