Coinbase to go slow on hiring, drops plans to triple size of company

Coinbase (Image: AP)

Nasdaq listed crypto exchange Coinbase has said it plans to slow hiring and reassess its headcount needs against its highest-priority business goals, amid downturn cycle of the crypto market.

“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,” said the company in a blog post.

The blog post further added, “​​Heading into this year, we planned to triple the size of the company. Given current market conditions, we feel it’s prudent to slow hiring and reassess our headcount needs against our highest-priority business goals. 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, specifically the potential adjusted EBITDA we are aiming to manage to.”

"Importantly, now is the time to ensure we are fully integrating all recent hires — so we can ensure that they are successful at Coinbase. This slow down will also force us to be more rigorous in our prioritization," the blogpost added.

Last month, the US exchange in its blogpost announced that the company will be hiring 1,000 people in the India hub this year, besides continuing investments in Indian startups through its investment arm Coinbase Ventures. 

In an e-mailed statement, the company spokesperson said, "Our commitment to our current markets, including India, remain unchanged."

Coinbase had launched its Indian tech hub in 2021 which currently has over 300 employees. Chief executive officer Brian Armstrong had then written that the crypto exchange will continue to invest heavily in the India hub.

Last week, Moneycontrol reported Coinbase suspended its UPI payment method due to 'informal pressure from RBI.' The exchange is now working with the RBI and plans its return to India with other payment systems in a relatively short time.

The exchange launched its operations in India on April 7 through a mega event in Bengaluru. But, the same night, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) issued a statement saying it is 'not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI.'

Coinbase saw a dip in its overall trading volumes, falling 44 percent from the fourth quarter. The company clocked a revenue of $1.17 billion for the first quarter and reported a quarterly net loss of $430 million, compared with a profit of $840 million in the fourth quarter.