Coinbase (COIN) Announces Fresh Job Cuts Amid Deepening Bear Market

• Coinbase (COIN) has cut over 60 jobs in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams.
• The latest round of job cuts will help Coinbase to operate more efficiently.
• The company fired around 1,100 people in June.

Coinbase (COIN), the second largest centralized crypto exchange in the world, has done another round of job cuts, according to a report by Reuters.

The exchange has fired over 60 people in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams as its rival FTX (FTT) is struggling for its solvency after multiple reports saying it has mishandled user funds.

The newest job cuts will allow Coinbase to operate in a more efficient way in an increasingly deepening crypto winter, according to the report. Coinbase saw a net loss of $544.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to a $406.1 million in profit a year ago.

This is the second round of layoffs Coinbase has done in the last six months. In June, the company reduced its headcount by 18%, which impacted around 1,100 jobs.

COIN is currently trading at $50.92, down 85% from its all-time high of $328.28, according to data from Yahoo! Finance.

Crypto asset prices have continued to plummet this year as multiple bankruptcies flooded the industry. Celsius, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital, and other centralized companies imploded, resulting in billions of dollars lost.

But the latest FTX debacle seems to be the hardest blow to the already struggling industry. Reports indicate that Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, valued at $32 billion earlier this year, sent over $10 billion of user funds to its sister crypto trading firm Alameda Research to engage in risky trades. This has drawn the attention of U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong denied having any “material exposure” to FTX or Alameda Research on Monday. He partly blamed the U.S. regulatory environment for FTX’s blowup, saying “regulators have been focused onshore”, which drove users to crypto exchanges with “opaque and risky business practices.”

On the Flipside

• It’s unclear whether Coinbase will do another round of job cuts. If the crypto market continues to go down in value and investors lose interest, it’s possible the exchange will need to reduce its headcount again.

Why You Should Care

Coinbase is the second largest centralized crypto exchange in the world. Its decision to cut jobs again is a sign of distress not only in the markets, but also within the company.

Stay updated on the current FTX crisis, and its impact on the crypto world as a whole, with DailyCoin:

US Justice Department and SEC are Investigating the FTX Crisis

Bankman-Fried Apologizes for FTX (FTT) Crisis, Says Alameda Research Is “Winding Down Trading”