Coinbase Will Slow Hiring as Cryptocurrencies Drop

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is the latest company to announce a slow down in hiring, announcing that it will slow down hiring as tech stocks and cryptocurrencies plunge.

The company told staff today that it would slow hiring and reevaluate its headcount, reversing earlier plans to triple its workforce in 2022.

“Given current market conditions, we feel it’s prudent to slow hiring and reassess our headcount needs against our highest-priority business goals,” Emilie Choi, Coinbase’s chief operating officer, wrote in a blog post.

“Headcount growth is a key input to our financial model, and this is an important action to ensure we manage our business to the scenarios we planned for.”

The Nasdaq Composite has lost around a quarter of its value since the start of the year as inflation hits a near 4-year high and cryptocurrencies have seen big drops.

Bitcoin briefly tumbled below $26,000 last week, its lowest level since December 2020, after the collapse of Terra, a controversial stablecoin project.

Coinbase share prices have dropped 74% year-to-date amid a slide in both tech stocks and digital currency prices. The stock was up about 7% Tuesday.
Coinbase reported a 27% decline in revenues in the first quarter as usage of the platform dipped. The company makes most of its revenue from trading fees.

In a call with analysts, Coinbase management said the company is investing “pretty heavily” in compliance but hinted at slowing hiring as one of the “levers” it could use to cut down on costs.

“We know this is a confusing time and that market downturns can feel scary,” Choi said Tuesday. “But … we plan for all market scenarios, and now we are starting to put some of those plans into practice.”

“We’re in a strong position — we have a solid balance sheet and we’ve been through several market downturns before, and we’ve emerged stronger every time,” Choi added.
Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.