Why Coinbase Fired Engineers? Crypto-Exchange Platform CEO Brian Armstrong Explains Reason Behind Employees’ Termination (Watch Video)

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently fired engineers who failed to start using AI tools, even after the crypto-exchange platform brought enterprise licences for GitHub Copilot and Cursor. Speaking on the Cheeky Pint podcast with Stripe co-founder and President John Collison, Armstrong shared that he “went rogue” and took direct action. He posted a message in the company’s engineering Slack channel, making it mandatory for all engineers to onboard with AI tools by the end of the week. “AI is important. We need you to all learn it and at least onboard,” Armstrong said. He explained, “You don’t have to use it every day yet until we do some training, but at least onboard by the end of the week. And if not, I’m hosting a meeting on Saturday with everybody who hasn’t done it and I’d like to meet with you to understand why.” During the meeting, some had valid reasons like being on holiday or a trip. “Some of them didn’t and they got fired,” Armstrong said. Dream11 Layoffs Coming? Co-Founder Harsh Jain Dismisses Job Cuts After Govt Ban on Real-Money Games Under Online Gaming Bill 2025, Says ‘All the Talent Is Safe’.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Fires Engineers

The CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase says he required every engineer to start using AI, then after a week fired those who didn't do it immediately. pic.twitter.com/5x9TrzlBE7

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) August 25, 2025

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2025 12:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).