A boost in the percentage of AI-written code on Coinbase’s platform from 40% to 50% is sought by CEO Brian Armstrong, who is warning of dismissal for employees who refuse to use AI coding.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is spearheading a transformation toward an artificial intelligence revolution, setting a goal for at least 50% of the platform’s daily code to be produced by AI by October 2025. Armstrong asserts that currently, approximately 40% of the code powering the platform is already AI-generated.
However, he conceded that the AI-generated codes would have to be manually reviewed to ensure their proper functionality.
“Obviously it needs to be reviewed and understood, and not all areas of the business can use AI-generated code. But we should be using it responsibly as much as we possibly can,”
said the Coinbase CEO in his recent post.
Armstrong was exceptionally dedicated to this AI revolution, compelling employees to begin leveraging AI development aids after enterprise licenses for both GitHub Copilot and Cursor were recently acquired.
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding aid for current code editors, specializing in rapid, embedded code recommendations and task finalization. Meanwhile, Cursor is a dedicated AI code editor that was built from the ground up on VS Code.
Based on a GitHub survey of 500 U.S. developers at major companies, the use of AI-driven coding tools such as GitHub Copilot and Cursor is reported by approximately 92% of respondents. These tools are employed for both work and personal projects, with 70% of them asserting that the tools give them a competitive advantage in their daily tasks.
Coinbase CEO Mandates AI Coding, Dismissing Non-Compliant Staff
Brian Armstrong acknowledged that several quarters might be needed to fully acclimate the company’s tech staff to begin utilizing AI coding tools. However, he required everyone to comply expeditiously, so every engineer was reportedly obligated via Slack to onboard by week’s end.
“We need you to all learn it and at least onboard. You don’t have to use it every day yet until we do some training, but at least onboard by the end of the week,”
said Armstrong as quoted by Fortune.
“And if not, I’m hosting a meeting on Saturday with everybody who hasn’t done it, and I’d like to meet with you to understand why,”
he added.
During the Saturday meeting, each employee who had failed to adopt the AI coding programs was questioned by Armstrong. Those with a valid excuse were permitted to remain, while others were allegedly terminated.
Fortune’s query for a statement had not been answered by Coinbase.
Armstrong has been exceptionally optimistic about AI adoption, particularly within the workforce. He is not alone in this; in fact, the use of AI has been enforced and strongly encouraged by numerous chief executives at firms like Google, Microsoft, and Shopify.
Recently, a positive outlook regarding AI’s role in accelerating stablecoin adoption was expressed by Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz, as more synergy between AI and crypto begins to emerge. He contends that AI agents will become the dominant users of stablecoin, which will lead to a massive volume of transactions within the market.
During March 2025, “vibe coding” emerged as a prevalent subject among startups and technology firms as aspiring developers began leveraging AI to build applications and tools without lacking prior programming expertise. All that was required was for the necessary code to be generated by the AI. Many were able to build their own applications and projects based on this “vibe coding” methodology.
