In the midst of the cryptocurrency crash, Coinbase, one of the largest cryptoactive exchange platforms, has announced that it will lay off 18% of its workforce, about 900 jobs out of a total of 5,000.
“We want to make sure we stay healthy during this economic downturn. Our headcount costs are too high to manage this uncertain market. It looks like we are entering a recession after an economic boom of over ten years. A downturn could lead to another ‘crypto winter’ ‘ which could last a long time,” said Brian Armstrong, CEO and founder of the US company, which has been listed on the Nasdaq since April last year.
For this reason, Armstrong has stressed the need to keep costs under control, after Coinbase’s workforce has quadrupled in the last 18 months, from around 1,250 employees at the beginning of 2021 to 5,000 currently had.
During today’s trading session, the company’s share has dropped -2.7%, reaching 49.7 dollars. On the day of its debut, its shares reached a price of 429 dollars, compared to the 250 dollars of valuation prior to the jump to the parquet.
Yesterday, two other platforms, Binance and Celsius, decided to block the withdrawal of funds due to the extreme conditions in the sector. The falling value of bitcoin and other assets has reduced the value of the crypto-asset market by two-thirds since it peaked in 2021.
