crypto
Bulletins

Coinbase is slowing hiring, not tripling in size

President and COO Emilie Choi said the move is meant to "reprioritize our hiring needs against our highest-priority business goals."

A view of the Coinbase office.

In a note, Coinbase COO Emilie Choi acknowledged the company's previous plans to triple the size of the company.

Photo: Coinbase

Coinbase is reining in its hiring plans, according to a Monday blog post from president and COO Emilie Choi. Choi said she had shared the note with employees earlier, but wanted to announce the news publicly.

In the note, Choi acknowledged the company's previous plans to triple the size of the company. Even at its first-quarter earnings call, when it reported weak results that sent stocks plummeting, leaders defended the company's hiring binge. Choi told analysts the company was “making sure that we're building the right infrastructure as we scale up.” CEO Brian Armstrong said down periods are a great time to invest in talent: "We tend to do our best work in down periods.”

Coinbase has now changed its tune, pointing to the market's downturn as a reason to slow hiring. Crypto has been hit especially hard, with the price of bitcoin dipping below $30,000 last week. But all areas of tech are feeling the burn of falling stocks. Meta and Uber have cut back on hiring, citing a need to control spending. Startups are laying off employees. Some, like Carvana, haven't learned their lesson from Better.com's mass Zoom layoffs.

Coinbase stock is still down this month, hovering around $65 on Tuesday and down 80% from its IPO in April 2021.

Lizzy Lawrence

Lizzy Lawrence ( @LizzyLaw_) is a reporter at Protocol, covering tools and productivity in the workplace. She's a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied sociology and international studies. She served as editor in chief of The Michigan Daily, her school's independent newspaper. She's based in D.C., and can be reached at llawrence@protocol.com.

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