Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., will be letting go of around 950 employees, or about 20% of its current workforce, as part of “a further restructuring plan,” which is expected to be “substantially complete” by the second quarter of 2023. 

See related article: Coinbase blames India’s central bank for exit

Fast facts

  • In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday, Coinbase said it will incur about US$149 million to US$163 million in total restructuring expenses related to employee severance and other termination benefits.
  • Coinbase said it expects to substantially account for these charges in the first quarter of 2023.
  • The company said it expects certain operating expenses for the quarter ending in March of 2023 to be about 25% lower than that of the quarter ending in December last year.
  • In June last year, Coinbase cut about 1,100 employees or 18% of its headcount at the time. 
  • Coinbase joins a growing list of crypto exchanges to announce layoffs in recent months. Job losses in the industry were estimated to be as much as 40% in December following the collapse of FTX.
  • Coinbase share price on the Nasdaq closed 15.06% higher at US$38.27 on Monday but was down around 2.6% during Tuesday’s pre-market trading. 
  • See related article: The last 12 months the year to forget, says India’s WazirX crypto exchange