Coinbase is feeling the chill of crypto winter

Will the company’s hiring freeze turn workers away from crypto?

As crypto gained steam, tech giants have lamented workers leaving for the promise of Web3 riches.

Coinbase is feeling the chill of crypto winter

But that trend might be short-lived.

Coinbase, one of the most prominent companies in crypto, recently announced an indefinite hiring freeze, pushing new workers to rethink crypto as a career, per Bloomberg.

In the last year…

… Coinbase has grown from 1.7k to ~5k employees. The company seemingly had no intention of slowing down, with a plan to triple its headcount in India to ~1k workers by year’s end.

Then crypto winter froze over hiring:

  • The company announced it will not be making any new hires for the foreseeable future
  • Over 330 accepted offers were rescinded

Despite Coinbase offering severance packages and other services, the rescinded offers have led to a variety of personal problems for candidates:

  • One candidate turned down offers at Amazon and PWC in favor of Coinbase
  • Another was relying on Coinbase for a work visa, and now has ~150 days to find another job that will support one

Perhaps more importantly…

… Coinbase is viewed as an on-ramp for crypto — both for users of its services, and new hires looking to start a career in the industry.

The hiring freeze and rescinded offers could ultimately scare candidates into roles in more stable industries — which may not be a bad thing for Big Tech.

Topics: Cryptocurrency

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