Coinbase slashes 18% of workforce

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global said on Tuesday it would slash 18% of its workforce, or about 1,100 jobs, to cut costs amid the financial market downturn.

The cryptocurrency market has been roiled by extreme volatility due to economic and geopolitical uncertainties such as rising inflation and the impact of Ukraine war, with bitcoin tumbling as much as 14% on Monday after crypto lender Celsius Network froze withdrawals and transfers.

“We appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom. A recession could lead to another crypto winter, and could last for an extended period,” Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said in a blogpost.

Without giving details on which departments would be impacted, Armstrong said employees would receive an email “in the next hour” from HR informing them if they had been affected by the layoff.

Shares of Coinbase, which have lost roughly 80% of their value this year, fell about 7% in premarket trading.

Earlier this month, Coinbase said it would extend a hiring freeze and rescind a number of accepted offers in order to deal with current macroeconomic conditions.

In a filing on Tuesday, the company said it expects to incur about $40 million to $45 million in total restructuring expenses, substantially related to employee severance and other termination benefits.

The job cuts are expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2022.

Coinbase last month reported a 35% fall in total revenue to $1.17 billion for the three months ended March 31, missing analysts’ estimates.