Coinbase has replaced or redeployed four senior leaders after cutting 14% of its workforce as it builds a platform across cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives and prediction markets.
Coinbase’s regulatory filing states that Chief Human Resources Officer Lawrence Block will leave his position on August 17th and will remain with the company until September 1st to transition his role. Coinbase has named Dominique Baillet as Mr. Block’s successor and will be responsible for the company’s recruitment, talent retention and workplace operations during the product expansion period.
Block will continue to provide advice from September 2 to November 30 under an agreement signed on July 23, according to the filing. Under the arrangement, he will be paid three months of his current base salary after the advisory period and continues to vest his restricted stock units, which is scheduled for Nov. 20. Coinbase’s filing does not provide a reason for his departure.
His departure follows several changes across Coinbase’s legal, organizational, and Base teams. CertiK Pulse reported that Greg Tusar, co-head of Coinbase Institutional, has moved to a policy-focused position after working in the company’s prime brokerage, custody, finance, and currency products.
Paul Grewal will also be retiring from his post as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Coinbase on July 31st, a position he held for six years. Molly Abraham, vice president of legal affairs, will become general counsel and secretary, and Ryan Vangrack will become Coinbase’s first vice chairman and managing director.
According to Reuters, Grewal will remain an advisor and will also maintain a seat on Coinbase National Trust Company’s board of directors. During his tenure, Grewal helped Coinbase respond to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2023 lawsuit and supported the crypto industry’s campaign for new market laws in Washington.
Coinbase is cutting layers while adding products
The changes at the executive level come less than three months after Coinbase announced plans to cut approximately 700 positions, representing 14% of its workforce. CEO Brian Armstrong linked May’s decision to the destabilization of the crypto market and productivity gains from artificial intelligence, while Coinbase estimated the restructuring costs at $50 million to $60 million.
According to an internal letter reported by Business Insider, Armstrong told employees that Coinbase needed a smaller, more efficient team. The exchange also planned to reduce layers of management and test team structures that would allow fewer employees to handle tasks that previously required multiple specialized roles.
At Base, Jesse Pollack has stepped down from leading the network’s consumer apps, handing over control to Jordan Fish, popularly known as Coby. According to CoinDesk, Pollack admitted that his focus on social applications and creator coins did not result in the adoption he had hoped for.
Pollack will instead focus on developing Base as a blockchain for global finance, prioritizing transactions, payments, and tokenization. Coinbase has kept the Base app under its own control, but the change in leadership has separated Pollack’s role in working on consumer products and developing the underlying network.
Along with the personnel changes, Coinbase describes its business as an “Everything Exchange” where customers can access cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives and event contracts from one platform. Coinbase announced that it is opening commission-free trading in stocks and exchange-traded funds to all eligible U.S. users, with 24-hour access five days a week.
Prediction markets have been an early source of revenue for the model. Coinbase reports that the product reached more than $100 million in annual revenue during March after operating across the United States for two full months. Additionally, the company’s first quarter results showed annual retail derivatives revenue of over $200 million and crypto trading volume market share of 8.6%.
Weak cryptographic condition tests extension
Coinbase’s product expansion continues as the company’s research division maintains a neutral outlook for the third quarter. Coinbase Institutional and Glassnode reported that their total cryptocurrency market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, fell by approximately 12% in the second quarter.
The companies’ joint report, Charting Crypto Q3 2026, found early signs of Bitcoin accumulation but concluded that tight liquidity, the US-Iran conflict, and weak ETF demand continue to limit the market. According to Coinbase Institutional, the record stablecoin supply suggests that some sellers have moved their funds into dollar-pegged tokens rather than removing them from cryptocurrencies altogether.
COIN traded at $158.50 on July 24, down 1.65% from its previous close, with an intraday range of $153.80 to $163.50. The move brings Coinbase’s market cap to around $42 billion, but the company’s stock remains under pressure, falling 31.9% in 2026 and 59.4% year over year.
Baillet’s anticipated appointment will therefore place Coinbase’s human resources team at the center of two competing demands: managing a smaller workforce and supporting new asset categories. Investors can next assess its execution when Coinbase releases its second-quarter financial results after the market closes on July 30.
