Coinbase Lays Off 700 Employees to Become AI-Native Firm

Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is cutting 700 roles in what its chief executive describes as preparation for an AI-driven operational model.

The company says the reduction is 14% of its total headcount.

CEO Brian Armstrong tells staff in an email that artificial intelligence has "dramatically" changed the pace of work within the organisation.

He says this is leading up to an "inflection point" for the company.

“We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast and AI-native,” he says. “We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core.”

The announcement comes as fintech companies face pressure to demonstrate how emerging technologies like AI can improve margins and operational efficiency.

Fintech workforce cuts accelerate

The cryptocurrency platform's decision reflects patterns emerging across the technology and financial services sectors.

According to industry data, nearly half of the 80,000 tech sector layoffs reported in Q1 of 2026 were attributed to AI-driven restructuring.

Other fintech firms have made similar moves.

Block, the payments company led by Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, announces in February that it would cut cut 40% of its workforce.

Sharing that he is planning to reduce middle management layers from five down to two or three, Jack said “In the most ideal case, you know, there is no layer. Everyone in the company reports to me, and that would be all 6,000 of the company.

“And that feels somewhat ridiculous when you consider the old structure, but when you consider that the majority of our work is going through this intelligence layer, it’s a lot more manageable.”

The scale of these reductions suggests that financial technology companies are moving faster than traditional banks in adopting AI-led operating models.

Traditional banks have generally taken a more cautious approach to workforce restructuring, while fintech firms face different regulatory pressures and investor expectations.

Management layers being reduced

Brian says Coinbase is "fundamentally changing" how it operates.

The exchange plans to flatten its organisational structure so there are just five layers below the chief executive.

Each leader could potentially manage 15 or more direct reports under the new model.

Brian says this would help create teams that can move quickly and ensure every leader is a "strong and active contributor".

Jack expresses similar views during an episode of the Long Strange Trip podcast, revealing plans to reduce middle management layers at Block from five down to two or three.

“In the most ideal case, you know, there is no layer. Everyone in the company reports to me," Jack says.

“And that feels somewhat ridiculous when you consider the old structure, but when you consider that the majority of our work is going through this intelligence layer, it’s a lot more manageable.”

AI adoption becomes mandatory

Brian says Coinbase would concentrate "around AI-native talent" to manage fleets of AI agents.

The company will experiment with "reduced pod sizes," testing one-person teams that can balance engineering, design and product management.

Brian has previously emphasised the importance of AI adoption at Coinbase and said on Stripe Co-founder John Collison's podcast in September that employees had been fired for not using AI tools.

Brian says he posts in the company's Slack channel that he wants all employees to be onboarded with the technology by the end of the week.

Those who had not used the technology were asked to attend a Saturday meeting.

“I jumped on this call on Saturday and there were a couple people that had not done it,” Brian said. “Some of them had a good reason because they were just getting back from some trip or something, and some of them didn’t, and they got fired.”

Brian acknowledges that some people "didn't like" the approach but says he believes it "set some clarity" in how the company needed to lean into AI.

The aggressive timeline suggests that some fintech firms view AI adoption as a competitive requirement rather than an operational option.