Coinbase to cut 700 jobs as it expands use of AI

Coinbase said it will lay off 700 employees, about 14% of its workforce, as it cuts costs and pushes artificial intelligence deeper into operations.

Coinbase announced Tuesday that it will cut 700 jobs, or roughly 14% of its workforce, as the cryptocurrency exchange moves to lower costs and use artificial intelligence more broadly across the company.

In a letter to employees shared on social media, co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said the company is streamlining operations amid continued volatility in the crypto market. He said Coinbase is “currently in a down market” and needs to adjust its cost structure so it can become “leaner, faster and more efficient” for its next phase of growth.

The company expects to complete the layoffs by the second quarter of 2026 and estimates it will incur $50 million to $60 million in restructuring costs. Coinbase had nearly 5,000 employees at the end of 2025, according to a regulatory filing cited in the source report.

Armstrong also linked the restructuring to a broader shift in how Coinbase plans to work. He said the company will move some jobs toward managing fleets of AI agents and will experiment with “one-person teams” that combine responsibilities typically handled by engineers, designers and product managers.

“This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs,” Armstrong wrote.

The announcement makes Coinbase the latest company to cite artificial intelligence as part of a workforce reduction or restructuring plan. Other companies that have pointed to AI in layoff announcements include Chegg, CrowdStrike and Pinterest, while Block has also said it would reduce its workforce as it uses AI to increase productivity.

The immediate impact on specific Coinbase teams and roles was not detailed in the captured report. The next test for the company will be how it carries out the cuts while trying to make AI a larger part of its day-to-day operations.