Coinbase lays off 950 employees, CEO says the exchange is well capitalized

• The exchange wants to reduce operating costs by 25%.
• It is the second crypto exchange after Huobi to confirm layoffs in 2023.
• Coinbase CEO has however confirmed that the exchange is well capitalized.

The American-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has announced through its website that it is cutting down on its operating expenses by 25%. The move includes laying off 950 employees, which accounts for about 20% of the company’s workforce.

The exchange’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, has listed the ongoing bear crypto market and the broader macroeconomy as the main reasons to reduce the company’s expenses.

Hard times for the exchange

While announcing the laying off, the CEO also assured the public that the crypto exchange is well capitalized and added that crypto is not going anywhere.

Nevertheless, the CEO noted that while the exchange has gone through multiple crypto bear markets, the current bear market is proving to be a real struggle for Coinbase. He said that it is the first time a global economic meltdown has aligned with a bear crypto market. He said:

“As we examined our 2023 scenarios, it became clear that we would need to reduce expenses to increase our chances of doing well in every scenario. While it is always painful to part ways with our colleagues, there was no way to reduce our expenses significantly enough without considering changes to headcount.”

2023 has already seen several layoffs

Coinbase joins several other companies that started the year 2023 by announcing layoffs. Huobi exchange also recently confirmed 20% layoffs.

For example, Salesforce announced it is planning to reduce its workforce by 10%, which would translate to laying off about 8,000 people. Amazon also confirmed that it is carrying out its second round of layoffs that will see it lay off about 18,000 people from its workforce.