After A Big Q1 Loss, This Crypto Exchange Is Slowing Down Hiring

Crypto exchange Coinbase said on Tuesday it will slow down its hiring plans in the face of a market downturn.

Emilie Choi, President and Chief Operating Officer at Coinbase wrote in a blog that the recent market crash has made the company reconsider its hiring goals for the year. The move is intended to help the firm achieve its core earnings target this year.

Given current market conditions, we feel it’s prudent to slow hiring and reassess our headcount needs against our highest-priority business goals.

-Choi

The move also comes after Coinbase logged a $430 million loss in the first quarter, while its revenue sank and expenses skyrocketed. The exchange blamed volatility in the crypto market for the poor showing, and warned that its second quarter may be even worse.

Coinbase’s shares are now trading around record lows.

Coinbase not facing bankruptcy

Still, Choi noted that the slowdown in hiring did not indicate any financial strain on the company, and that its expenses outlook for 2022 is unaffected. The exchange is in a “strong position.”

The comments mirror a similar rhetoric from CEO Brian Armstrong, who said that the exchange is not at any risk of bankruptcy. The exchange had received flak over the possibility that its retail customers could lose their holdings if the exchange were to go bankrupt.

Still, Coinbase is facing extreme pressure from one of the worst crypto crashes in recent history.  The exchange’s recent NFT marketplace also appears to have largely flopped on launch.

But the exchange still has its believers. Star investor Cathie Wood recently capitalized on the dump in Coinbase’s stock price, and increased her stake in the firm.

Terra, crypto crash decimate markets

Terra’s crash, coupled with a severe decline in crypto prices has pressured several crypto exchanges in recent weeks, including Coinbase.

While majors such as Bitcoin and Ethereum wiped out all of their gains through 2021, losses in Terra spilled over into other layer-1 blockchains.