Coinbase reshuffles top ranks amid push into stocks and predictions

Coinbase has replaced or reassigned four senior leaders after cutting 14% of its workforce, as the exchange builds a platform spanning crypto, stocks, derivatives and prediction markets.
Summary

• Coinbase is replacing or reassigning four senior leaders during its multi-asset expansion.
• Dominique Baillet is expected to succeed Lawrence Brock as chief people officer.
• Stocks and prediction markets are growing as weak crypto conditions pressure COIN.

A Coinbase regulatory filing states that Chief People Officer Lawrence Brock will leave his position on Aug. 17 and remain with the company through Sept. 1 to transfer his duties. Coinbase expects to appoint Dominique Baillet as Brock's successor, placing her in charge of the company's hiring, retention and workplace operations during a period of product expansion.

Brock will continue providing advice from Sept. 2 through Nov. 30 under an agreement signed on July 23, according to the filing. The arrangement gives him a payment equal to three months of his current base salary after the advisory period, along with continued vesting of restricted stock units scheduled for Nov. 20. Coinbase's filing does not give a reason for his departure.

His exit follows several changes across Coinbase's legal, institutional and Base teams. CertiK Pulse reported that Greg Tusar, co-head of Coinbase Institutional, has moved into a policy-focused position after working on the company's prime brokerage, custody, financing and exchange products.

Paul Grewal also plans to leave his role as chief legal officer and corporate secretary on July 31 after six years at Coinbase. Vice President of Legal Molly Abraham will become general counsel and secretary, while Ryan VanGrack will serve as Coinbase's first vice chair and head of corporate affairs.

Grewal will remain an adviser and retain his seat on the board of Coinbase National Trust Company, Reuters reported. 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 legislation in Washington.

Coinbase is cutting layers while adding products

Changes at the executive level have arrived less than three months after Coinbase announced plans to eliminate about 700 positions, equal to 14% of its workforce. CEO Brian Armstrong linked the May decision to volatile crypto markets and productivity gains from artificial intelligence, while Coinbase estimated restructuring costs of $50 million to $60 million.

Armstrong told employees that Coinbase needed smaller and more efficient teams, according to a company letter reported by Business Insider. The exchange also planned to reduce management layers and test team structures in which fewer workers handle tasks that previously required several specialized roles.

At Base, Jesse Pollak has stepped back from leading the network's consumer app and handed control to Jordan Fish, widely known as Cobie. Pollak acknowledged that his focus on social applications and creator coins had failed to produce the adoption he expected, according to CoinDesk.

Pollak will instead focus on developing Base as a blockchain for global finance, with trading, payments and tokenization taking priority. Coinbase has kept the Base app under its control, while the leadership change separates work on the consumer product from Pollak's role in developing the underlying network.

Alongside the personnel changes, Coinbase describes its business as an "Everything Exchange" that gives customers access to crypto, equities, derivatives and event contracts from one platform. The company has opened commission-free stock and exchange-traded fund trading to all eligible U.S. users, offering access 24 hours a day on five weekdays, according to a Coinbase announcement.

Prediction markets have become an early revenue source within that model. Coinbase reported that the product reached more than $100 million in annualized revenue during March, after operating nationwide for two full months. Its first-quarter results also placed annualized retail derivatives revenue above $200 million and crypto trading-volume market share at a record 8.6%.

Weak crypto conditions test the expansion

Coinbase's product expansion is proceeding as its research unit maintains a neutral outlook for the third quarter. Coinbase Institutional and Glassnode reported that total crypto market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, contracted by about 12% during the second quarter.

Their joint "Charting Crypto Q3 2026" report found early signs of Bitcoin accumulation but concluded that tighter liquidity, the U.S.--Iran conflict and weak exchange-traded fund demand continued to limit the market. Record stablecoin supply suggested that some sellers moved capital into dollar-linked tokens instead of removing it from crypto entirely, according to Coinbase Institutional.

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 latest move left Coinbase with a market value of about $42 billion, while its shares remained under pressure after falling 31.9% during 2026 and 59.4% over the preceding year.

Baillet's expected appointment therefore places Coinbase's People team at the center of two competing demands: managing a smaller workforce and supporting new asset categories. Investors can next assess that execution when Coinbase publishes its second-quarter financial results after the market closes on July 30.

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