TL;DR

  • Coinbase states it is remote-first in its FY2025 Form 10-K – a document filed with the SEC, where inaccuracy carries legal consequence.
  • It has no headquarters, and says so in the same filing. It leases offices “for purposes of collaboration”.
  • It explicitly rejects the hybrid model: “This isn’t a hybrid work model with mandatory office days.” Teams meet one week per quarter.
  • Visa sponsorship is stated only for US and Canadian interns. For European roles, nothing is stated at all.

Most companies’ claims about remote working live on a careers page that nobody dates and anybody can edit. Coinbase’s lives somewhere considerably harder to fudge.

From its FY2025 Form 10-K, filed 12 February 2026, under ITEM 2 PROPERTIES:

“We are a remote-first company, meaning that for the vast majority of roles, our employees have the option to work remotely… As a result of this strategy, we do not maintain a headquarters, but do currently lease physical offices in select major cities in the United States and other countries around the world for purposes of collaboration.”

That is a statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission about the company’s physical footprint. It is the most authoritative evidence of a working model that Remote Work Europe has found for any employer, and it is why Coinbase belongs in this hub rather than the open-to-remote one, where we originally researched it.

What Coinbase means by remote-first

Coinbase has been unusually specific about the distinction, which matters because “remote-first” is a phrase many companies use while running a hybrid rota.

From “The Next Phase of Remote-First at Coinbase”, published by L.J. Brock on 1 October 2025:

“Coinbase is proudly remote-first… It’s important to remember that remote-first doesn’t mean ‘remote-only’ – regular in-person time is essential for execution and problem-solving. Moving forward, teams will get together one week each quarter for in-person sessions.”

And, directly:

“This isn’t a hybrid work model with mandatory office days; it’s a new rhythm of coming together to get real problem solving done.”

So the commitment is: no assigned office, no weekly attendance, and roughly four weeks a year of scheduled in-person time. Those gatherings “typically take place in our New York or San Francisco hubs” – which is worth knowing if you are in Europe, because it implies transatlantic travel four times a year for roles that participate.

What Coinbase does not tell you

Two gaps that matter more than the headline.

There are unpublished rules about where you can live. From an earlier post by the same author, “4 reasons Coinbase is staying remote”, 20 September 2021:

“we do have some common-sense rules about where employees can live, both to avoid negative tax implications and to ensure teams aren’t spread out across too many time zones”

Coinbase has never published what those rules are. So the honest position is not “no location restrictions” – it is restrictions exist and are not disclosed. That is an absence of information rather than an absence of constraint, and it is a fair thing to ask about early.

Visa sponsorship is narrower than it first appears. Across 192 live adverts there is no mention of sponsorship at all. The only published position sits on the internships page:

“Does Coinbase sponsor visas for international candidates? Yes, Coinbase offers visa sponsorships for international candidates living in the United States and for Canadian citizens who are currently residing in Canada.”

Read that carefully. It covers interns, and only those already in the US or Canada. For a European applying to a European role, Coinbase states nothing. Assume you need existing work rights where you are.

What this means if you are in Europe

Coinbase is a genuinely distributed employer with a documented commitment, and that is rarer than the marketing on most careers pages suggests. The practical questions are narrower than “do they allow remote work”, because they plainly do.

Ask instead: which country can they actually employ you in, given rules they have acknowledged but not published? Will your role be expected at the quarterly in-person weeks, and if those are in New York or San Francisco, who pays and how often? And since financial services regulation attaches individuals to jurisdictions – the same constraint that anchors Monzo’s risk and compliance roles to Ireland and the UK – does your particular function carry a regulatory location requirement that the advert does not mention?

None of those are reasons not to apply. They are the questions to get answered before you accept.

A note on how we checked this

Coinbase’s own website blocks automated retrieval, which is common and not sinister. We verified the statements above through the SEC’s EDGAR filing archive and the Internet Archive’s raw captures, and cross-checked the working-model claim against all 192 live adverts.

We mention it because it is a useful technique for anyone researching a US-listed employer: ITEM 2 PROPERTIES in an annual report has to describe the office footprint honestly. If a company tells the SEC it has no headquarters, that is a stronger signal than anything on its careers page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Coinbase really remote-first? Yes, and it says so in its annual report to the SEC: “We are a remote-first company… we do not maintain a headquarters.”

Does Coinbase have offices? It leases offices in several cities “for purposes of collaboration”, but has no headquarters and no mandatory attendance.

How often would I need to travel? Teams gather for one week each quarter, typically in New York or San Francisco.

Does Coinbase sponsor visas in Europe? Nothing is stated for European roles. Its only published sponsorship position covers interns already living in the US or Canada.

Can I live anywhere? No. Coinbase has said it has “common-sense rules about where employees can live” for tax and timezone reasons, but has not published them. Ask.

Sources

  • Coinbase Global, Inc. FY2025 Form 10-K, filed 12 February 2026 – ITEM 2 PROPERTIES
  • L.J. Brock, “The Next Phase of Remote-First at Coinbase”, 1 October 2025
  • L.J. Brock, “4 reasons Coinbase is staying remote”, 20 September 2021
  • Coinbase internships page, Internet Archive capture 12 September 2024
  • Coinbase’s public job board, 192 live adverts, retrieved 7 September 2026