Coinbase cuts 14% of staff as AI reshapes how crypto companies operate

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Coinbase cuts 14% of staff as AI reshapes how crypto companies operate Brian Armstrong, the CEO at Coinbase, announced a workforce reduction of roughly 660 from its current 4,700. By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Omkar Godbole May 5, 2026, 11:38 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on What to know : Coinbase will lay off about 14 percent of its 4,700-person workforce, or roughly 660 employees, as it contends with a crypto market downturn and shifts in its operations driven by artificial intelligence. Chief executive Brian Armstrong said AI has enabled small engineering teams to work far more quickly, prompting the company to rethink its cost structure and emerge “leaner, faster, and more efficient” for its next phase of growth. U.S. employees who are laid off will receive at least 16 weeks of base pay plus two weeks for every year of service, and similar support will be offered to workers abroad in accordance with local laws. Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, announced Tuesday on X that his company is slashing its workforce by roughly 14%, or 660 employees, citing negative market conditions and AI challenges. "Today I've made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%," said Armstrong in an X post he said was also the email sent to all the crypto exchange's employees. In it, he explained the "two forces" that converged in his firm's decision to slash staff. "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 so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth," said the CEO of the Nasdaq-listed company. The second reason is AI, and how it is changing the way Coinbase operates, he said. "Over the past year, I've watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks," Armstrong stated, adding that "the pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day." The Coinbase CEO said that employees laid off in the U.S. will receive a minimum of 16 weeks' base pay, plus 2 weeks of severance pay for every year they were employed by the company. He also said that those not in the U.S. would receive similar support under local law. "Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry," he said. A wave of crypto layoffs this year has highlighted the gap between two convenient narratives: macro headwinds and AI transformation. Algorand cut its staff by 25% in late March, citing "the uncertain global macro environment" and a broader crypto downturn. In February, Gemini Space Station (GEMI) said it would eliminate roughly 200 positions, about a quarter of its staff, a figure that had grown to 30% by mid-March. On Thursday, Crypto.com said it is trimming 12% of its workforce, about 180 roles. All but Algorand pointed directly to macro conditions, weak token prices and a pivot toward greater use of AI in the workflow. Coinbase More For You Crypto platform Bullish to buy Equiniti for $4.2 billion, building tokenized securities infrastructure By Will Canny , Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf 1 hour ago The deal brings a regulated transfer agent into the Bullish stack, expanding the firm's end-to-end tokenization capabilities. What to know : Crypto platform Bullish to buy Equiniti for $4.2 billion, adding a global transfer agent serving 2,500 companies and 20 million shareholders. Combination creates a blockchain-enabled issuer services platform spanning issuance, registry and trading. 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