Coinbase just shuffled its leadership team while trying to build something way bigger than just a crypto exchange.
The company cut 14% of its workforce — that’s about 700 people — a few months ago. Now it’s making big changes at the top as it tries to become what it calls an “Everything Exchange.” That means stocks, crypto, derivatives, and prediction markets all in one platform.
Here’s who’s moving around:
Lawrence Brock, the Chief People Officer, is stepping down on August 17. Dominique Baillet is taking his spot. This matters because Baillet will be in charge of hiring, keeping people happy, and running the whole workplace operation — all while the company is trying to expand into new products.
The chief legal officer is also leaving. Paul Grewal is out on July 31 after six years. Molly Abraham, a VP in the legal department, is getting promoted to general counsel. Ryan VanGrack is becoming the company’s first vice chair and head of corporate affairs. Grewal’s been there through some rough times, including when the SEC sued Coinbase in 2023 and during the whole fight for better crypto regulations in Washington.
Over at Base — that’s Coinbase’s blockchain project — Jesse Pollak is stepping back. He tried to build out social apps and creator coins on Base, but it didn’t catch on the way he hoped. Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie, is taking over the Base consumer app. Pollak is now focusing on making Base into a blockchain for global finance, with trading and payments as the priorities.
So what’s driving all this? Coinbase is trying to make money in areas outside of pure crypto trading because crypto markets are weak right now. The overall crypto market actually shrunk by about 12% in the second quarter. Bitcoin’s showing some signs of life, but there’s not much buying pressure.
But here’s the interesting part: prediction markets are booming. Coinbase’s prediction market product hit over $100 million in annualized revenue back in March — and that’s after only running nationwide for two months. They also opened up commission-free stock trading to regular US users, and derivatives revenue is over $200 million annualized.
The challenge? Coinbase cut a lot of people and is now trying to build new products and expand into new markets with a smaller team. That’s a lot on the plate.
Coinbase stock has been getting hammered. It fell 31.9% during 2026 and 59.4% over the past year. The company needs this expansion to work, otherwise it’s just a crypto exchange riding out a weak market.
