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Coinbase Cuts 14% of Staff and Bets Its Future on AI-Native Teams
Brian Armstrong frames the layoffs not as a crisis response but as a deliberate rebuild around artificial intelligence.
This article was produced by the AETW editorial team.
Coinbase is laying off roughly 700 employees — about 14% of its workforce — citing a crypto market downturn and a structural shift toward AI-driven operations. CEO Brian Armstrong is rebuilding the company around small, AI-native teams and flatter management.
What Armstrong announced
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shared a company-wide email on X on Tuesday announcing the layoffs. Roughly 660 to 700 employees are affected, out of a workforce of approximately 4,700. The cuts span global teams and took immediate effect — system access was removed the same day.
US-based employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay, plus two weeks for each year worked, their next equity vest, and six months of COBRA coverage. Employees on work visas will receive additional transition support.
Two forces, one decision
Armstrong cited two converging pressures. The first is the current crypto market downturn — Coinbase's revenue fell 26% in its most recent quarter, and trading volumes hit an 18-month low. Despite strong capitalization and diversified revenue, Armstrong said the company needs to adjust its cost structure now to come out of the cycle in better shape.
The second force is AI. Armstrong said that over the past year, engineers at Coinbase have been shipping in days what previously took teams weeks, and that non-technical staff are now writing production code. Around 40% of Coinbase's daily code is already AI-generated, with a target of over 50% by October. His conclusion: the pace of change has made inaction the bigger risk.
The structural reset
The layoffs are paired with a broader reorganization. Armstrong is flattening Coinbase to a maximum of five management layers below the CEO and COO. Pure management roles are being eliminated — every leader is expected to remain an active individual contributor, functioning more like a player-coach than an executive.
The most significant structural change is the introduction of what Armstrong calls AI-native pods: small, focused teams built around people who can manage fleets of AI agents. Some pods will be a single person carrying engineering, design, and product responsibilities simultaneously. Armstrong has previously said he expects Coinbase to eventually have more agents than human employees.
The wider pattern
Coinbase is not alone. Block, Pinterest, CrowdStrike, and Chegg have all announced cuts in recent months, with AI-driven productivity shifts cited as a contributing factor. What distinguishes Armstrong's announcement is how explicitly it frames the layoffs as a strategic choice rather than a cost-reduction response to poor results — even though the timing, two days before a difficult earnings report, makes that framing harder to separate from the financials.
Sources
AI & Technology Researcher
Brian Weerasinghe is the founder and editor of AI Eating The World, where he covers artificial intelligence, tech companies, layoffs, startups, and the future of work. His reporting focuses on how AI is transforming businesses, products, and the global workforce. He writes about major developments across the AI industry, from enterprise adoption and funding trends to the real-world impact of automation and emerging technologies.
