More than 95% of code at Coinbase is now written with the help of artificial intelligence - more than doubling in just a few months. Rob Witoff, Head of Platform at Coinbase, revealed the figure to Cointelegraph, well above the February 2026 estimate of around 40%.
“Effectively, 100% of our employees are using AI on a daily basis here,” Witoff said. “And close to 100% of our code, probably somewhere between 95% and 100%, is written by or with LLMs today.”
Shrinking Teams, Increasingly Senior Staff
This surge comes alongside major workforce cuts. In May 2026, Coinbase cut 700 staff members, roughly 14% of its total workforce. CEO Brian Armstrong stated that AI is “dramatically” changing the company’s pace of work and called for a “return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core.”
The impact has hit entry-level tiers the hardest. Today, 2-3 employees can complete tasks that previously required more than 10 people, leading to cuts across many junior developer roles. The wave of layoffs also touched marketing, legal, customer support, and compliance.
Humans Are Not Obsolete Just Yet
Witoff emphasized that AI adoption is not uniform across all areas. Core cryptography development still relies on humans, internal prototyping is nearly 100% automated, while core systems sit in the middle of that spectrum.
Testing has also not been fully handed over to machines. “We’re using AI quite a bit to test and make sure the code we’ve written is working the way it should, there’s no vulnerabilities, we’re verifying the math, but that’s a much more manual part than where we’re building internal prototypes, which is now effectively a 100% automated,” he said. On average, a Coinbase engineer now runs 5-10 AI agents simultaneously; collectively, these agents reportedly perform work equivalent to around 1,200 employees. Witoff even projected that by 2030, the figure could equal 100,000 employees.
A Wave Hitting Far Beyond Coinbase
Coinbase is not alone. Crypto.com cut 12% of its staff in March 2026 for roles deemed “failing to adapt,” Jack Dorsey-led Block cut 40% of its workforce in February 2026, while Kraken, Gemini, Messari, and Dune also cited AI efficiencies in layoffs this year. The remaining question is no longer whether AI is displacing crypto industry jobs, but rather who remains when the dust settles - and what skill sets keep workers valuable in an increasingly leaner workspace.
Reported via Cointelegraph.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
