Coinbase Plans to Cut 950 Jobs by End of Q2

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) has said it is planning to reduce its headcount by around 950 employees as part of a restructuring which it expects to be complete by the end of Q2 2023.

This figure would amount to around 20% of Coinbase’s workforce, which sits at around 4,700 according to the company’s website.

Coinbase said it is responding to “ongoing market conditions impacting the cryptoeconomy,” in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Tuesday.

The company expects the restructuring to cost $149 million- $163 million, including $58 million-$68 million in cash charges related to employee severance.

Coinbase began shedding jobs last June when crypto’s bear market began to take hold. CEO Brian Armstrong said at the time that the company had “grown too quickly” in the cryptocurrency bull market, scaling from 1,250 employees to over 5,000 at the start of 2021.

The firm began by cutting 1,100 jobs, equivalent to 18% of its workforce at the time, followed by another 60 in November, as the crypto winter grew even colder with the collapse of fellow exchange FTX.

Armstrong told CNBC, that the company came to the decision after looking at various stress tests for Coinbase’s annual revenue. He added that “it became clear that we would need to reduce expenses to increase our chances of doing well in every scenario” and there was “no way” to do so without reducing headcount.

Coinbase will also be shutting down several projects with a “lower probability of success.”

CoinDesk estimates that since April last year, nearly 27,000 jobs have been lost across the crypto industry, based on media reports and press releases.

COIN stock rose over 4% in pre-market trading following the news. At the time of writing, the stock is down around 1% at $38.

UPDATE (Jan. 10, 12:24 UTC): Adds additional details, context throughout. Updates stock price.

Please note that our

privacy policy,

terms of use,

cookies,

and

do not sell my personal information

has been updated

.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a

strict set of editorial policies.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of

Digital Currency Group,

which invests in

cryptocurrencies

and blockchain

startups.

As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of

stock appreciation rights,

which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG

.

Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.

Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.