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

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it’s slashing roughly 14% of its workforce, or about 700 workers, partly because artificial intelligence is reshaping the way people work.

“The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native,” Coinbase Chief Executive and co-founder Brian Armstrong said in a Tuesday email to employees.

The email, which was posted on social media, said engineers with the help of AI are completing work in days rather than weeks. As more tasks get automated, that’s made it possible for the company to lean on smaller teams.

The company also cited other factors contributing to the job losses, including the volatility of the cryptocurrency business.

Founded in San Francisco, Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Millions of people use its platform to buy, sell, transfer and store cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Coinbase is among tech companies that have been laying off workers and pointing to how AI is making workers more productive. Although some experts say the role AI has been playing is overblown, advancements in technology have also made it possible to generate code and automate other tasks. Companies are also spending more on artificial intelligence, some building new AI-powered gadgets or building out new data centers.

This year, companies such as Block, Meta, Oracle and more have announced they’re slashing thousands of workers. From January to March, tech companies have announced 52,050 layoffs, up 40% from the same period last year, according to outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Coinbase is also changing how it operates, Armstrong told employees. It’s reducing management layers and some leaders will oversee 15 workers or more, his email said. Managers will operate like “player-coaches” and it’s experimenting with “one person teams” in which the role of an engineer, designer and product manager are part of one position.

“AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era,” Armstrong told employees. “This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.”

Coinbase largely makes money from cryptocurrency transaction fees, but trading activity has slowed. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company reported total revenue of roughly $1.8 billion, missing analysts’ expectations. The company posted a net loss of $667 million during that quarter, which it partly attributed to losses in certain strategic investments.

As of December, Coinbase had more than 4,900 employees, according to its website. Although the company leased office space in San Francisco, it has allowed employees to work remotely and doesn’t have a physical headquarters.

Coinbase’s share price fell more than 2% on Tuesday to $197.75.