Coinbase is feeling the chill of crypto winter

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

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• Over 330 accepted offers were rescinded

Despite Coinbase offering severance packages and other services, the rescinded offers have led to a variety of personal problems for candidates: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The hiring freeze and rescinded offers could ultimately scare candidates into roles in more stable industries — which may not be a bad thing for Big Tech.