Crypto exchange Coinbase to lay off 20% of employees

Today, January 10, the largest US crypto exchange Coinbase announced about the decision to reduce its operating expenses by 25%, which includes the reduction of 950 jobs – this is 20% of the total number of employees of the company. In June last year, the company informed about cutting 18% of the staff, “to maintain the stability of the business during the economic downturn.”

This time, the company’s management stated: “Coinbase has sufficient capital, and the crypto industry is not going anywhere. But in 2022, the crypto market began to decline along with the global economy. We have also witnessed the fall of some of the major players in the market, which could cause the difficult situation to escalate further.”

Indeed, last year the cryptocurrency market showed a rapid decline. The bitcoin rate fell by 65%, one of the largest crypto platforms went bankrupt – FTXthis is reflected in the rest of the market. But Coinbase believes that all this is temporary difficulties. “Despite everything, our company and industry are moving forward,” says Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. “I am optimistic about both our future and the future of the crypto industry. Progress is not always straightforward, sometimes it feels like we are taking two steps forward and one step back.”

Evgeniy Khvostik