Coinbase is in trouble again, co-founder Fred Ehrsam announced that he will leave the company

As a leading company in the digital currency industry, Coinbase has received a total of $116.61 million in financing so far. However, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, is not happy recently. First, he was busy with the "John Doe" subpoena from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and now, his good partner Fred Ehrsam has also announced that he will leave the company.

Fred Ehrsam, the former Goldman Sachs trader and co-founder of Coinbase Inc., is leaving the San Francisco bitcoin startup to pursue new opportunities.

Ehrsam revealed the news during an internal Coinbase meeting today, telling reporters that he plans to end his day job at the end of January, take some time off, and potentially pursue a new venture in the blockchain industry.

“There’s a high probability of starting a business in the cryptocurrency space,” he said.

It is reported that Ehrsam will retain his seat on the board of directors of Coinbase after his departure.

When asked about the reasoning behind the move, Ehrsam said he believes the company, and the broader blockchain industry, is facing an “inflection point.”

“This is the first time I think it can support a range of different businesses and ideas,” he said.

Ehrsam joined Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong in late 2012 after an email exchange with the company.

Ehrsam said he had discussed the decision for a long time, and that he believed more employees might leave Coinbase and start their own businesses over time.

For example, Coinbase’s first employee, Olaf Carlson-Wee, left the company in July last year and founded a hedge fund based on blockchain tokens.

“If you look at the really successful companies, the big ones tend to emerge in a whole new industry, and the most successful ones get out of entrepreneurs,” he said. “Like the PayPal Mafia, we created the Coinbase Mafia.”

It is reported that during Ehrsam’s tenure at Coinbase, he was named one of the top 30 outstanding people under 30 by media such as Time Magazine and Forbes. He also attended many high-profile conferences as a representative of Coinbase.

At the same time, Coinbase also announced that Mike Lempres will join the company and serve as the company's chief legal and risk officer.

The company said in a statement:

“Coinbase is in great shape and we are optimistic about 2017 and beyond.”