Coinbase is expected to cut approximately 14% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan announced by CEO Brian Armstrong on Tuesday. The move aims to streamline operations and rebuild its business around artificial intelligence (AI).
This reduction will allow Coinbase to streamline its management system, leaving a maximum of five levels below the CEO and CFO. Senior leaders will directly manage at least 15 employees while still holding personal responsibilities.
Why did Coinbase decide to cut staff at this time?
According to Brian Armstrong , the 14% reduction, equivalent to approximately 700 Coinbase employees, was due to two pressures occurring simultaneously.
Firstly, the general crypto market cycle has impacted Coinbase's business results in recent quarters. However, the company still has strong Capital resources and is ready to embrace the future wave of stablecoin adoption, prediction markets, and tokenization.
The second reason, according to Armstrong, is that this is a critical turning point in how companies operate. He said Coinbase's engineering team can now complete a task in a few days, instead of weeks as before.
Not only engineers, but other departments can also directly contribute to product development. This is a continuation of a previous move, when Coinbase aimed for the majority of its source code to be AI-generated by October.
“About 40% of the code written each day at Coinbase is generated by AI. I want to increase that number to over 50% by October,” Armstrong Chia in September 2025.
The new model will focus on AI-native pods, which are teams of personnel capable of managing "AI task teams." Some test groups will also merge engineering, design, and product management Vai into a single position.
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Coinbase is also stepping up the application of AI to products such as tools to support on-chain trading for agents .
Affected Coinbase employees in the US will receive at least 16 weeks of base pay, plus two weeks' pay for each year of service with the company.
They will also receive their next stock distribution and an additional six months of COBRA health insurance. This support package is similar to what Coinbase has done in previous rounds of layoffs .
How effectively Coinbase operates with its lean, AI-driven model in the next financial reporting cycle will be a test of Armstrong's direction.
The results will show whether this new model is more effective than previous restructuring efforts.
Coinbase has filed for SEC compliance with regulations requiring notification of significant restructuring events such as job cuts, office closures, or substantial cost-cutting measures that could have a major impact on the company's finances.
