Crypto Exchange Coinbase Slows Hiring Amid Market Downturn

Leading U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase is slowing hiring, citing the current down cycle in the market as a reason to rethink its staffing strategy. The company’s management believes the move will allow the trading platform to match its hiring needs with its business goals.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced a change in its staffing plans. After previously aiming to triple its size heading into this year, the company now feels it’s prudent to slow hiring and reassess its personnel needs against its business goals, given the current market conditions. Quoted in a press release on Tuesday, Coinbase President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi explained:

To ensure we’re best positioned to succeed during and after the current market downturn, we’re announcing we’re slowing hiring so we can reprioritize our hiring needs against our highest-priority business goals.

Choi further elaborated that Coinbase had made the decision in order to emerge stronger from this down cycle. She emphasized the step is part of managing the business to the scenarios the company had planned for, and assured the changes will not affect its expense outlook for the second quarter and the whole of 2022.

The digital asset exchange now intends to focus on integrating its recent hires and becoming more rigorous in determining its priorities. “We know this is a confusing time and that market downturns can feel scary,” the top executive noted while pointing out that the company has been through other, similar challenges in the past.

Choi’s announcement comes after Coinbase revealed in its earnings report earlier in May that it holds $256 billion in fiat and crypto assets on behalf of its customers. It also admitted that if the company declared bankruptcy, its users can potentially lose access to the crypto funds in their accounts as these could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings.

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