Coinbase CEO pushes AI adoption, fires engineers resistant to change

Friday 05 September 2025 - 10:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Coinbase CEO pushes AI adoption, fires engineers resistant to change

The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has announced an ambitious plan to have artificial intelligence (AI) write more than half of the cryptocurrency exchange's code by October, marking one of the most aggressive AI integration strategies in the tech industry.

Armstrong revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that 40% of Coinbase’s daily code output is currently generated by AI, with a goal of surpassing 50% next month. "Obviously, the code must be reviewed and understood, and not all parts of the company can use AI-generated code," Armstrong explained. "But we should use it responsibly wherever possible." This announcement doubles the AI-generated code percentage from April, when it was just 18%. This rapid adoption places Coinbase ahead of tech giants like Microsoft and Google, where AI contributes roughly 30% of code output.

Mandatory AI adoption and controversial layoffs

Armstrong’s push for AI adoption has sparked controversy due to his management decisions. In a recent podcast appearance, he admitted to firing engineers who failed to adopt AI-based coding tools such as GitHub Copilot and Cursor within a week of the company purchasing enterprise licenses.

"I sent an announcement on Slack to all engineers," Armstrong recounted during an interview with Stripe co-founder John Collison on the podcast Cheeky Pint. "Then I held a meeting on Saturday for those who hadn’t adopted the tools. I wanted to understand their reasons."

Employees who could not provide valid explanations, such as being away on travel, were terminated. "Some had good reasons, some didn’t—and they were let go," Armstrong stated.

Security concerns and industry criticism

Coinbase’s aggressive use of AI has drawn sharp criticism from security experts, particularly in light of a data breach in May 2025, which exposed sensitive information of nearly 70,000 customers. The breach, caused by overseas support agents who were bribed to steal client data, cost the company an estimated $180 to $400 million. Compromised information included names, addresses, and transaction histories.

Larry Lyu, founder of the decentralized exchange Dango, called Coinbase’s reliance on AI a "major red flag for any security-sensitive enterprise." Similarly, Adam Cochran, partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, expressed concern: "Hearing ‘40% of our code is AI-generated’ doesn’t inspire confidence in a company that handles financial assets."

Despite these concerns, Coinbase is actively hiring, with nearly half of its 350 job openings focused on engineering and development roles. The company insists that AI-generated code undergoes rigorous review and is not used across all business operations.