Coinbase laying off 18% of workers as crypto winter worsens

Another sign of a worsening crypto downturn that’s shaved off hundreds of millions of the total cryptocurrency market value

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Coinbase Global Inc. announced Tuesday it will lay off 18 per cent of its workforce in another sign of a worsening crypto downturn that’s shaved off hundreds of millions of the total cryptocurrency market value.

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The U.S.’s biggest crypto exchange is following in the footsteps of other cryptocurrency-related businesses that have recently cut staff, including rival exchange Gemini Trust Co. and lender BlockFi Inc., both of which cited the arrival of a crypto winter — a prolonged downturn — as the reason for the layoffs.

Coinbase had hired aggressively in recent years, with its workforce ballooning by about 1,200 employees this year. The company plans to lay off roughly that amount, ending the current quarter with about 5,000 employees. Until recently, the company didn’t acknowledge the arrival of a crypto winter, even though its shares have been dropping since it went public more than a year ago. They are down nearly 80 per cent year to date, according to Bloomberg data.