Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Announces 14% Workforce Cut, Cites AI and Market Conditions

Coinbase is eliminating approximately 700 positions—representing 14% of its workforce—as part of a strategic shift driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and market conditions, according to CEO Brian Armstrong.

On Tuesday, Armstrong posted the full internal email on X (formerly Twitter), outlining the rationale behind the layoffs and the company’s future direction. He wrote:

"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."

The restructuring will not only reduce costs and headcount but also fundamentally alter how Coinbase operates. Key changes include:

• Flattening the company’s hierarchy to a maximum of five layers between executives and employees.
• Eliminating middle management roles to streamline decision-making, with leaders managing up to 15 direct reports.
• Prioritizing "AI-native talent" to drive innovation and efficiency.
• Experimenting with one-person teams, where a single individual handles tasks typically assigned to engineers, designers, and product managers.

Armstrong emphasized that the goal is to create a leaner cost structure capable of performing across all market cycles.

Coinbase is not alone in leveraging AI as a justification for workforce reductions. Recent examples include:

• Meta: Plans to cut 10% of its workforce this month, citing AI investments and slower sales amid geopolitical tensions, including the U.S. conflict in Iran.
• Snap Inc.: Announced a 16% workforce reduction last month due to AI advancements.
• Block: Reduced its workforce from 10,000 to 6,000 in February, with CEO Jack Dorsey expressing hope that AI will replace middle management roles.

For affected U.S. employees, Coinbase will provide a minimum of 16 weeks of base pay, plus two weeks per year of service. Employees on work visas will receive additional transition support.

Below is the full text of Armstrong’s internal email, as shared on X:

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s Internal Email on Layoffs

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 future.

Why now

Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both.

First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. 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.

Second, AI is changing how we work.