Coinbase has appointed long-serving engineer Rob Witoff (롭 위토프) as chief technology officer (CTO).

On July 28, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (브라이언 암스트롱) disclosed the appointment of the new CTO, saying Witoff has contributed to the company’s growth.

The appointment comes as Coinbase shifts to an artificial intelligence (AI)-centred organisation. Armstrong described Witoff as a key figure in making Coinbase one of the world’s most active AI-using companies. As Coinbase enters its next growth phase, it has chosen him as the right person to lead both the technology organisation and its AI strategy.

Witoff said he has officially started his duties as Coinbase CTO. He cited his career, saying he became fascinated with Bitcoin in 2009 and joined Coinbase as an engineer in 2014, stressing that he has watched the company expand its technology foundation from the early days.

Looking back on Coinbase’s early days, he explained that the company then ran on Heroku, supported only a single cryptocurrency and was built by a small engineering team working from one codebase. He said the company’s structure and scale have changed significantly over the past 12 years, but its core culture has not.

Witoff then described Coinbase as a team that constantly launches products. He said his mission as CTO is to make it “the best place to work in the world.”

The promotion coincides with Coinbase’s recent organisational reshuffle. Witoff rejoined Coinbase in December 2024 as head of the platform and a member of senior management. He previously served as Coinbase’s chief architect and later founded security startup Unit 410, which Coinbase subsequently acquired. At the time, President and Chief Operating Officer Emily Choi (에밀리 최) said his return would be a big help in strengthening platform engineering capabilities.

Coinbase has accelerated work in 2026 to shift to an “AI-first company.” In May, it carried out restructuring that cut about 700 employees, or about 14 percent of its global workforce. At the same time, it reduced management layers and reorganised its team operating structure around AI-assisted development.

Management changes have also continued. In July, Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal (폴 그레왈) said he would leave the company after six years handling legal and regulatory response work. Against this backdrop, Coinbase’s decision to elevate an internal technology leader to CTO is seen as a move to push both the AI shift and organisational overhaul. How Witoff combines technology operations and AI strategy is expected to be a key point to watch in Coinbase’s next growth phase.

Some news: I've started my next tour of duty as CTO @coinbase. In 2009 I got hooked on Bitcoin empowering builders with programmable money. In 2014 I joined Coinbase as an engineer because there was no better place to build it. Back then we ran on Heroku and supported one asset… pic.twitter.com/p1fF1EoCuo