Coinbase is laying off another 950 people or 20% of their workforce. COIN 0.00 stock has dropped 90% from its peak and all the shenanigans that are happening in the crypto world are hurting Coinbase’s core business. TBH, I personally have a lot of FUD about crypto because there are too many shady actors in this space. In the meantime, I do hope some impactful decentralized and transparent applications will eventually emerge. In the layoff announcement, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said:
Dark times also weed out bad companies, as we’re seeing right now. But those of us who believe in crypto will keep building great products and increasing economic freedom in the world. Better days are ahead, and when they arrive, we’ll be ready. Thank you for everything you’ve done to get us this far, and everything you will do to carry us forward.
If crypto is here to stay, I do think Coinbase will be one of the big winners. But crypto could also go the same way as the exotic tulips in the 17th century. So we don’t actually know. I also found out recently that Coinbase Bonds that mature in 2028 are trading at 56 cents on the dollar or 14.88% Yield-to-Maturity. This indicates people don’t have very high confidence that Coinbase will survive in the coming years. It’s interesting that the crypto prices are still holding up since the FTX collapse and the on-going DCG/Gemini drama though. I feel so much cognitive dissonance every time I try to connect the dots in crypto. Nothing makes sense there.