Coinbase cuts 700 jobs (14% of workforce) in AI-driven restructuring

Coinbase will cut approximately 700 employees (14% of its nearly 5,000-person workforce) effective May 5, 2026, incurring $50-60 million in restructuring charges. CEO Brian Armstrong announced the layoffs in a companywide email, citing both crypto market volatility (Q4 2025 revenue fell 21.6%, with a $667 million net loss) and a strategic pivot to an 'AI-native' operating model. Armstrong stated engineers can now 'ship in days what used to take a team weeks' and non-technical staff are 'shipping production code' and automating workflows. The restructuring caps management at five layers below the CEO, requires all leaders to remain as individual contributors, and concentrates hiring around 'AI-native pods.' Armstrong described rebuilding Coinbase 'as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it.' Mizuho Securities analyst Dan Dolev noted the crypto winter is 'probably the real reason for most of the cuts' and AI is likely 'an easy excuse.'