Coinbase: the CEO fires employees who have not used AI

The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, urged his engineer employees to use AI and after a week decided to fire those who did not. A story that emphasizes Armstrong’s stance on artificial intelligence, after he declared it mandatory.

Coinbase: CEO Brian Armstrong fires those who don’t use AI

According to what has been reported, it seems that Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, has taken the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) seriously. 

In fact, it seems that Armstrong gave his employees a week to start using AI coding assistants. After that time, those who did not want to follow his directive were fired on the spot. 

The CEO of Coinbase stated that this initiative is entirely his own, and that the priority was precisely for his employees to be able to use AI-based coding assistants. 

In the podcast Cheeky Pint with Stripe co-founder and president John Collison, Armstrong states that he made the use of AI mandatory. Here’s what he said he told his employees:

Coinbase: 50% of the platform’s code must be written by AI by October

Another intention of Armstrong these days has been regarding the Coinbase code, which he wants 50% to be written by AI by October. 

Currently, over 40% of the lines of code that make up Coinbase’s systems are written by Artificial Intelligence. By next month, Armstrong aims to surpass the 50% threshold. 

“Approximately 40% of the code written daily by Coinbase is generated by artificial intelligence. I would like to exceed 50% by October. Obviously, it needs to be reviewed and understood, and not all areas of the company can use AI-generated code. However, we should use it responsibly as much as possible.”

Such statements come a month after Coinbase publicly stated that one of its goals will be to transform its workforce into “AI-Natives”. However, this would not have been related to the layoffs of some of its 4,200 employees. 

Mag7 + Crypto: the first hybrid index

These days, Coinbase has made headlines for the presentation of the “Mag7 + Crypto” futures, which will be launched on September 22nd.

This is a cash-settled contract that combines Big Tech and crypto ETFs into a single 10-component index, provided by MarketVector. 

The hybrid index aims to bring together the main US tech stocks and two crypto ETFs in a single basket, offering thematic exposure to digital innovation.