Brian Armstrong Calls Petition To Remove Top Coinbase Execs ‘Really Dumb’

An unknown number of Coinbase’s employees called for a leadership shakeup at the exchange

article-image

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong | blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share
  • Coinbase employees express concern over leadership, direction of company in now-deleted petition
  • CEO Brian Armstrong said any employees caught signing the petition would be fired

Some Coinbase employees want three top officials at the cryptocurrency exchange removed, according to a now-deleted petition that was first published on Mirror.xyz. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who was not listed as one of the three, took to Twitter to call the move “really dumb on multiple levels.” 

The petition ​​called for Coinbase Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi, Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee and Chief People Officer LJ Brock to be ousted. An archived copy of the petition is available from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine

“We the employees at Coinbase believe that the executive team has recently been making decisions that are not in the best interests of the Company, its employees, and its shareholders,” the petition said. 

Petition writers cited Coinbase’s “failed” NFT platform, its “toxic” employee review system and the exchange’s aggressive and “unsustainable” hiring practices.

Armstrong encouraged dissatisfied employees to “quit and find a company to work at that you believe in,” in his Twitter thread. 

“Our culture is to praise in public, and criticize in private,” he added. 

The rift comes shortly after the exchange announced it would be pausing hiring efforts and rescinding a number of accepted employment offers, a grievance also listed in the petition. Coinbase has decided to take more “stringent measures” to slow its headcount growth in hopes of navigating uncertain waters, Brock wrote in a blog post about the decision earlier this month. 

Coinbase is also facing controversy from many customers, who were alarmed to learn that the exchange reserved the right to seize client assets in the event of bankruptcy. 

“The crypto assets we hold in custody on behalf of our customers could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings,” the exchange said in its latest earnings report

Armstrong noted that employees caught signing the petition would be fired, as it harms “fellow co-workers, along with shareholders and customers.”

“There is probably lots we can be doing better, but if you’re at a place where you want to leak stuff externally, then it’s time for you to go,” he said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Figure, founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has emerged as a leader in onchain RWAs, with ~$17.5B publicly tokenized. The platform’s ecosystem volume is growing ~40% YoY as it expands beyond HELOCs into student loans, DSCR loans, unsecured loans, bankruptcy claims, and more. Operationally, Figure cuts average loan production cost by ~93% and compresses median funding time from ~42 days to ~10, creating a durable speed-and-cost advantage.

article-image

Combining Franklin Templeton’s tokenization expertise with Binance’s trading infrastructure could speed crypto adoption, companies say

article-image

The firm’s upcoming filing comes as competition heats up over the USDH stablecoin

article-image

Robinhood and Coinbase are vying for user attention with new social features that could rival Twitter

article-image

Atkins backs predictable digital asset framework through Project Crypto, marking a departure from prior enforcement tactics

by Blockworks /
article-image

Following a roundtable, the startup emerges as frontrunner, despite entries from Paxos, Ethena, and others