Coinbase CEO reveals real reason he closed SF offices
In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong revealed his reasons for leaving San Francisco.
In May 2021, the cryptocurrency exchange announced that it was closing its San Francisco offices for good. This came a year after Armstrong announced that the company would go “remote first” and abandon a physical headquarters altogether. Around this time, the CEO personally moved to Los Angeles.
Armstrong shared with the Financial Times that part of the reason he moved to Los Angeles was because of the recent “techlash” in San Francisco. He told the publication that San Francisco has vilified the people who “create growth” in the city.
“The best part about San Francisco for me was this spirit of ̵[ads1]6;we can build a better future with technology, right?'” Armstrong told the Financial Times.
Coinbase’s departure from San Francisco came just a year after a controversy in which Armstrong banned the discussion of politics and social issues in the workplace during the Black Lives Matter movement. After this, 60 employees resigned.
“I didn’t really want such a big controversial moment, it wasn’t something I was looking for,” he told the Financial Times. “I actually wish it hadn’t happened at all.”
This past summer, Coinbase withdrew already accepted job offers and laid off nearly a fifth of its staff – 1,100 employees – following the downturn in the crypto industry. The company’s market value has fallen from $76 billion at its market debut in 2021 to just $10.3 billion today.
Despite the recent FTX crash, Armstrong “remains as bullish on crypto as ever,” he told the Financial Times.
