Coinbase Rebuilds Interviews as AI Writes Nearly All Its Code

Coinbase says AI now writes close to all of its merged code, up from 5.7% in early 2025, per its engineering blog.

That number now decides who the company hires. Candidates are tested on directing AI, evaluating its output, and catching architectural mistakes, not on solo coding.

The share climbed past 50% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and sits near 100% now, with humans reviewing every line, per the post.

Roughly three months earlier, Coinbase had cut 14% of its staff and replaced managers with player-coaches. Same company, same AI productivity story, turned into two different decisions: a smaller team, then a rewritten hiring bar.

Their stated logic: you can't hire engineers to work alongside AI while selecting for the ability to work without it.

Most companies claiming AI writes their code haven't touched their interview process. Coinbase rebuilt its hiring bar around the number instead. Watch whether the skill that gets someone hired shifts from writing clean code to catching AI's mistakes before they ship.