Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) is cutting roughly 14% of its global workforce, or about 700 employees, as the cryptocurrency exchange moves to reduce costs and adapt to what CEO Brian Armstrong described as a shifting market and rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
The layoffs were announced Tuesday in a message to employees that Armstrong also shared publicly on the social media platform X.
In the post, he wrote that the company is responding to “two forces converging at the same time”: a downturn in the crypto market and the growing impact of AI on how work is performed.
“While we’ve managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now,” Armstrong wrote, adding that the company aims to emerge “leaner, faster, and more efficient” for its next phase of growth.
At the same time, Armstrong said artificial intelligence is reshaping productivity across the organization. He noted that engineers are increasingly able to complete projects in days that previously took weeks, while non-technical teams are using AI tools to write code and automate workflows.
“The pace of what’s possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically,” he wrote.
This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase:
Team,
Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we're doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the…
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) May 5, 2026
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Coinbase disclosed that the restructuring will result in up to $60 million in charges related to severance and other employee benefits.
Affected employees will receive severance packages that include a minimum of 16 weeks of base pay in the US, along with additional compensation based on tenure, equity vesting, and benefits support, according to the company.
Shares of Coinbase traded down about 3% at $197 on Tuesday afternoon.