Surojit Chatterjee will be cashing out a portion of his Coinbase stocks on his final day for a whopping $105 million exit package.
Million Dollar Payout After Subpar Performance
Crypto executives are no strangers to high benefits and severance packages. With his final day at Coinbase inching closer, former chief product officer Surojit Chatterjee is making news for the size of his payday package. Chatterjee, who will be selling off a portion of his stock holdings, will rake in a whopping $105 million after logging out on his last day at Coinbase on February 3. Furthermore, he will also retain an additional 249,315 shares of COIN stock, which is presently valued at $49.42 per share. Ever since this information spread, crypto Twitter has been abuzz over the size of his payday amount, especially in the context of Coinbase’s subpar performance (the unsuccessful NFT initiative) during his tenure.
Twitter user “Autism Capital” wrote,
“A reminder that a mid project manager got paid $115 MILLION DOLLARS to launch the worst most embarrassing NFT grift attempt for Coinbase with a total of 7 active daily users and transaction volume less than your daily gas fees.”
Severance Package Includes Benefits
Chatterjee had migrated to the San Fransisco-based company from Google back in February 2020, just on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic. His annual starting salary was a million dollars, which brings up his total earnings from the company till his last day to around $115 million. As per his separation agreement, Chatterjee will receive severance benefits, which include a lump sum amount and health insurance coverage for ten months. Furthermore, he will continue to be employed in an advisory capacity for the rest of the year.
Chatterjee had commented on the matter via a LinkedIn post,
“I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute in my role as an advisor to Brian and the exec team and to continuing the hard but critical work of creating more economic freedom and building a better internet for everyone.”
Chatterjee’s Claim To Wealth
It is to be noted that Chatterjee initially had a five-year contract with the company, which was cut short by his resignation due to personal issues. As per the original agreement, he would have earned $646 million at the end of the five-year term. Also, another important factor at play here was the turbulence in the crypto market and the rise and fall of crypto valuation. 2021 was Chatterjee’s first year at Coinbase, which was also marked by the ballooning interest in crypto from people stuck in lockdown during the pandemic. The value of COIN stock skyrocketed to an all-time high of $342, making him and everybody who held COIN stock fabulously wealthy. The valuation dropped quite significantly the next year, bringing down the net valuation of Chatterjee and other high-level executives. However, the initial pandemic boost and the exorbitant package agreement still ensured that Chatterjee left with a sizeable chunk of cash.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
