Coinbase to cut about 700 jobs, shift to AI-first model

Coinbase plans to eliminate about 700 positions, roughly 14% of its global staff, as it reorganizes around artificial intelligence, smaller teams and lower operating costs. The company expects most reductions to be completed by the second quarter of 2026.

The exchange said it will record between $50 million and $60 million in charges related mostly to severance and employee benefits and warned the final amount could rise if additional restructuring costs emerge. Shares fell about 3% in after-hours trading following the announcement.

U.S. employees impacted by the cuts will receive at least 16 weeks of base pay, plus two extra weeks of pay for each year of service, the next scheduled equity vesting, and six months of health care coverage. Coinbase said it will reorganize teams around new technologies as part of the changes.

Brian Armstrong framed the staffing reductions around the company’s increasing use of AI tools. In a company blog post he wrote, “Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different – nothing has changed about the long term outlook of our company or industry.” He added that new tools now allow non-engineering teams to write code and automate tasks previously handled by larger headcounts.

Coinbase has reduced staff in prior market downturns because its revenue is closely tied to trading volume and investor activity. The company said it remains well funded for long-term growth while it reduces its operating footprint amid weak trading conditions.

Separately, an anonymous user based in Puerto Rico filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco this week alleging Coinbase has not returned roughly $55 million in the stablecoin DAI that was stolen in a phishing attack in August 2024. The complaint says on-chain investigators traced the stolen assets to a Coinbase account and that the exchange identified and froze the funds by December 2024. The plaintiff seeks a court order to force the return of the assets. The filing notes that the theft was first flagged by an on-chain investigator and alleges the attackers used a fake DeFi Saver login page created with Inferno Drainer.

Industry peers have also adjusted staff levels while increasing AI use. eToro founder and CEO Yoni Assia described a small staff adjustment at his firm earlier this year and emphasized training and broader access to AI tools. He noted his company has increased AI use sharply in recent months and has deployed new apps developed with heavy AI assistance.

The Coinbase announcement is part of a pattern of crypto firms resizing workforces while investing in automation and AI to lower costs and accelerate product development.