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Crypto Platform Coinbase Will Lay Off 20% Of Its Staff

(Photo by Chris DELMAS / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Paul Aubert Contributor
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Coinbase, the second-largest cryptocurrency trading platform, announced Tuesday that it will be laying off about 950 employees, which equates to 20 percent of its workforce.

The layoff was ordered to increase “operational efficiency to weather downturns in the crypto market.” Additionally, “several projects” that have a “lower probability of success” will be removed, CEO and Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong said in a statement Tuesday.

“While it is always painful to part ways with our fellow colleagues, there was no way to reduce our expenses significantly enough, without considering changes to headcount,” Armstrong said.

In his statement, Armstrong mentioned how “dark times also weed out bad companies,” seemingly referencing FTX, the cryptocurrency marketplace that recently filed for bankruptcy and whose founder and now former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested. (RELATED: Bahamian Regulator Says It Seized $3.5 Billion From FTX To ‘Safeguard’ It)

Laid-off employees will reportedly receive hefty severance packages which include at least 14 weeks of base pay, an additional two weeks of pay for each year the employee worked at Coinbase, and health insurance, KRON4 reported.

Following news of the Coinbase workplace reductions, shares of Coinbase Global Inc. jumped 6.2%, according to Market Screener.

In June 2022, Coinbase laid off 18% of its workforce, as the cryptocurrency markets began suffering. In recent weeks, multiple Big Tech companies like Amazon, Salesforce, Twitter, and Meta have reduced their workforces following hiring increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armstrong recently warned Coinbase could suffer a 50% drop in revenue, the Daily Caller reported in December.