Crypto exchange Coinbase lays off 20% of its staff

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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. announced on Tuesday that it will cut its workforce by around 20%, or 950 employees, which is the third round of major layoffs at the company in less than a year.

The company said it expects to incur approximately $149 million to $163 million in restructuring costs. Its shares fell 3% in early trading. Over the past year, the company’s shares have lost around 90% of their value as part of a broader cryptocurrency slide.

“The whole industry is going through a crisis of confidence and the volume of transactions remains very low. This job cut is a reflection of the current difficult environment,” said Owen Lau, analyst at Oppenheimer.

Last year, rising interest rates and fears of an economic downturn wiped out over $1 trillion from the crypto sector. The crisis has also forced key industry players such as Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network to close shop.

However, the biggest blow came after top crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November. Its rapid fall has sparked harsh regulatory scrutiny of how major exchanges hold user funds.

“We have also seen the fallout from unscrupulous players in the industry, and there could still be further contagion,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a blog post.

“We will close several projects where we have a lower probability of success.”

Coinbase said it had no further comment on the plan.

The woes of the crypto world have continued this year, marked by plummeting filings, layoffs, and multiple legal hurdles.

Coinbase cut more than 60 jobs in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams in November, after cutting 1,100 jobs, or 18% of its workforce, in June.

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