layoffs

ChainCatcher reported live that Du Yu, head of the Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, and He Yi, co-CEO of Binance, attended the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, engaging in a roundtable discussion titled "Reshaping Boundaries: The Next Decade of Web3, AI, and the Intelligent Economy."Regarding the three major areas of personal focus, He Yi stated that she is currently dividing her time among three sectors: first, the world changes brought about by the approaching AI singularity, contemplating the product and service forms of Binance in the next decade; second, organizational and talent development, as companies need self-sustaining growth capabilities to support development once they reach a certain scale; third, the further integration of crypto and traditional finance, which is actively promoted in both the U.S. and Hong Kong, with the possibility that global foreign exchange may occur on blockchain rather than the SWIFT system in the future, and asset trading will achieve 24/7 uninterrupted global operations like in the crypto space.Regarding the impact of AI on Binance, He Yi clearly stated that Binance does not intend to lay off employees on a large scale to cut costs and improve efficiency like most tech companies. She believes AI makes the strong even stronger, as a programmer using AI to write code can enhance efficiency tenfold. She also shared that an employee was discovered and fired for "taking on multiple jobs" after their efficiency improved due to AI. She stated that Binance's overall approach is to further enhance the organization's output and innovation capabilities rather than reduce costs at the current scale.Regarding the goal of reaching three billion users, He Yi revealed that this year they have upgraded their target from pursuing one billion users to pursuing three billion users. She believes that becoming a company with three billion users means Binance is not just an exchange but a global financial infrastructure, with services aimed at everyday payments and wealth management for ordinary people.On the essence of AI, He Yi stated that there should be no "technological arrogance." No matter how advanced AI is, the most important thing for individuals is how technology serves life. She gave an example of when a bean bag can tell a rural elderly woman that a certain health product is fake and not to buy it, or when a lonely elderly person can chat with someone through AI; this is the value and significance that technology brings to humanity.Regarding the integration of crypto and traditional finance, He Yi pointed out that the internet has already gone through this path. Initially, Silicon Valley's internet had a strong hippie culture, which later diverged into two paths: those who went left pursued absolute freedom in the dark web, while those who went right created Google and Amazon, becoming commercial companies serving the public. Binance will steadfastly move towards serving the public. She also revealed that Binance has launched trading in commodities such as crude oil, gold, and silver, with the platform's commodity trading volume already accounting for a very high proportion of traditional scales. She believes that when labeling oneself to distinguish between Crypto and TradFi, that label is "drawing a line," and one should return to first principles: contributing to financial freedom and equality in the world.Regarding industry maturity and original intentions, He Yi stated that when Wall Street and traditional finance make a 180-degree turn to embrace crypto, it precisely indicates that the industry is becoming increasingly mature, with early-stage dividends diminishing. Entering a mature phase means crossing a chasm, and products must truly have value and be grounded. She quoted a phrase she has been saying since 2017: "We are not starting a business; we are creating history." Binance's slogan has also remained unchanged—"Exchange the World." She emphasized that the impact and transformation of Web3 on finance are real, and even if it only improves financial efficiency a little, it is an incredible innovation. There is no need to pursue perfection in one step; "just make a little progress every day."

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve Governor Waller stated that the low hiring and low layoffs in the job market are partly related to how companies are responding to tariffs.

According to The Block, zero-knowledge proof scaling developer StarkWare announced layoffs and initiated an internal restructuring. Co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson stated in an all-hands meeting that the company is "overly large" and needs to return to a "startup mode" to accelerate product-market fit. The specific number of layoffs and the timeline have not yet been disclosed, but the company promises to provide severance compensation that exceeds legal requirements.After the restructuring, StarkWare will split into two independent business units: one is a revenue-oriented application department led by current CPO Avihu Levy, focusing on developing monetizable products on its own technology stack; the other is the Starknet development department led by current product head Tom Brand. Each unit will have its own engineering, product, and marketing teams.Strategically, StarkWare plans to fully control the complete blockchain proof technology stack, including Cairo, Sierra, and quantum-resistant STARK cryptography, reducing reliance on external Layer 1 blockchains and application teams. Ben-Sasson stated that the company will shift from "doing many things well" to "doing a few things excellently," focusing on high-potential, high-value directions that only StarkWare can achieve. Additionally, COO Oren Katz has applied for resignation and will officially leave at the end of April.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has seen its market value shrink by over 50% this year and has laid off 30% of its staff. Internally, there are discussions about requesting founders Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss to waive the hundreds of millions of dollars in loans they provided to the company or convert the debt into equity. As of the end of December, Gemini's outstanding debt amounted to 4,619 bitcoins, valued at over $330 million at current prices.Securities filing documents show that Gemini lost $585 million last year. Additionally, the company plans to exit the UK, EU, and Australian markets, with several executives having already left. Currently, the Winklevoss brothers hold the majority voting rights and have not yet expressed whether they support this proposal.

According to the New York Post, Meta is laying off hundreds of employees in Silicon Valley while the tech giant is heavily investing in artificial intelligence and considering cutting more than 20% of its total workforce. According to the latest state government filings, the parent company of Facebook will lay off nearly 200 employees in the San Francisco Bay Area. The layoffs will affect 124 employees in Burlingame, California, and 74 employees in nearby Sunnyvale. The documents indicate that these layoffs will take effect in late May, and all affected positions will be permanently eliminated.Experts say this move indicates that Meta is undergoing a major strategic transformation—from a labor-intensive operational model to a machine-driven system. Meta's recent AI-related initiatives include plans to invest $10 billion in building data centers in El Paso, Texas.Meta is also considering larger layoffs. Senior employees have been informed to prepare for layoffs that could affect more than 20% of the company's workforce—about 15,000 employees. In response to this plan, a Meta spokesperson stated, "This is speculative reporting about a theoretical proposal."If the layoffs proceed, it would be the largest layoff at Meta since more than 20,000 employees were cut during Zuckerberg's push for the company's "year of efficiency" in 2022 and 2023. In a Meta earnings call, Zuckerberg stated that due to the application of AI tools, Meta has begun to "see projects that previously required large teams now being completed by a very talented individual."

According to Blockspace, one of the largest Bitcoin mining companies in the world, MARA (NASDAQ: MARA), has laid off about 15% of its staff, affecting full-time employees in multiple departments as well as some contractors. CEO Fred Thiel stated in an internal memo that this layoff is not purely a financial decision, but part of the company's strategic transformation from a pure Bitcoin mining company to an energy and digital infrastructure company.Previously, MARA completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of the French national energy company EDF, in February this year, officially entering the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) fields, and reached an agreement with data center developer Starwood to repurpose about 1 GW of mining infrastructure for AI workloads.In addition, MARA recently sold over 15,133 BTC (approximately $1.1 billion) to repay $1 billion in convertible bonds, with a net loss of $1.3 billion for the full year of 2025 and an adjusted EBITDA of -$330.8 million. Affected employees will receive one month of paid leave, 13 weeks of severance pay, and full compensation for unused vacation.

According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency exchange platform Gemini stated that its workforce has shrunk by about 30% since layoffs at the beginning of the year and is introducing artificial intelligence tools to improve productivity. Gemini lost over $500 million last year.As of March 1, the company founded by billionaire twins Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss had approximately 445 employees. Based in New York, Gemini stated that it did not provide a business outlook for 2026 when releasing its fourth-quarter results.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek disclosed on social media that Crypto.com is officially advancing enterprise-level artificial intelligence (AI) integration across the company and simultaneously reducing approximately 12% of its positions. Affected employees have been notified, and the company will provide them with appropriate transitional support resources.Kris Marszalek stated that this strategic adjustment aims to combine the best AI tools with high-performing talent to achieve levels of scalability and precision that were previously unattainable. The positions being cut are primarily functional roles that are deemed unable to adapt to the new business model.

According to Cointelegraph, payment company Block (which owns Square, Cash App, and Afterpay) has quietly recalled some employees this month after laying off about 4,000 people at the end of February this year. Several employees have stated on LinkedIn that they received invitations to return, citing reasons such as "administrative errors" and a shortage of personnel for key infrastructure.CEO Jack Dorsey previously acknowledged that the layoff decision may have been a mistake and stated that the rapid development of AI technology prompted the company to restructure its team of 6,000 people. Some of the laid-off employees believe that the layoffs were more about boosting investor confidence rather than purely due to considerations of AI replacement. Currently, Block's official website lists only 27 job vacancies, all of which are management or sales positions.

According to The Block, the Algorand Foundation announced a 25% staff reduction on March 18, 2026. The foundation stated that this layoff is a measure to respond to global macroeconomic uncertainty and the overall downturn in the cryptocurrency market, and it is not a hasty decision. It is reported that the total number of employees at the foundation is less than 200.Currently, the foundation holds approximately $38 million in dollar-denominated assets and 1.1 million ALGO tokens, with ALGO having a market capitalization of about $805.8 million, ranking 78th globally. The foundation stated that it will continue to focus on the long-term development and ecosystem construction of the Algorand protocol. This layoff is a reflection of the recent wave of layoffs in the cryptocurrency industry, with several projects such as OP Labs, Messari, and Block also announcing layoffs recently.

According to a report by Reuters, Meta is planning large-scale layoffs that could affect 20% or more of its employees. This move aims to offset investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and prepare for the higher efficiency brought by AI-assisted employees. The layoff date has not yet been determined, and the scale has not been finalized.

The infrastructure developer behind Optimism, OP Labs, announced the layoff of 20 employees, accounting for approximately 19.6% of the total team. Jing Wang, co-founder of Optimism and CEO of OP Labs, stated in an internal letter that the layoffs are not due to financial pressure, as the company currently has sufficient funds and years of cash flow reserves. This move aims to "streamline operations, accelerate decision-making, and reduce collaboration costs."Currently, Optimism is undergoing a transformation. Last month, Base, the largest chain in the OP Stack ecosystem, announced a shift to a self-developed unified tech stack, which raised market concerns about Optimism's long-term sustainability, leading to a roughly 37% drop in the price of OP tokens over the past 30 days. Despite the challenges, OP Labs has established a roadmap for 2026, focusing on faster block times, native interoperability, custom compliance controls, and a zero-knowledge proof (ZK Proof) system aligned with the Ethereum roadmap. Additionally, OP token holders had previously voted to allocate 50% of Superchain sequencer revenue for token buybacks.

The founder of Binance, CZ, commented on social media regarding the news "Block plans to lay off nearly half, betting on AI to improve company efficiency": "The reality is, either maximize the use of AI, or wait to be replaced by AI."Previous news from ChainCatcher reported that Block plans to lay off over 4,000 people, with a layoff rate close to 50%.

Jack Dorsey's payment service provider Block plans to lay off over 4,000 employees, with a layoff rate close to 50%. Its co-founder Jack Dorsey stated that this move is related to the rapid development of AI, and he chose to take immediate action rather than a gradual layoff, believing that multiple rounds of layoffs would undermine morale, focus, and the trust of customers and shareholders.Affected employees will receive 20 weeks of salary, an additional week of salary for each year of service, 6 months of health insurance, company office equipment, and a $5,000 transition assistance.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve's Musalem stated that the job market is susceptible to the impact of increased layoffs, which is not his baseline scenario, but it is not impossible.

According to market news, the enforcement team at the Chicago office of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has completely resigned. This office was once regarded as the agency's "top enforcement force," previously having 20 enforcement attorneys, and now none remain.This staff reduction comes as the CFTC seeks to significantly expand its regulatory scope into the cryptocurrency and prediction market sectors. Reports indicate that the same leadership responsible for the CFTC's staff cuts last year had actively advocated for the agency's jurisdiction to cover most of the cryptocurrency markets and sports prediction platforms. Caroline Pham, who served as the acting chair of the CFTC in 2025, pushed for a reduction of over 21% in the agency's workforce last year, and she is currently employed at the cryptocurrency company MoonPay.Former CFTC enforcement attorneys stated that this layoff is targeted, as the Chicago office has specialized experience and a key role in reaching multi-billion dollar settlements with cryptocurrency companies like FTX and Binance.

According to Cointelegraph, Jack Dorsey's Bitcoin payment company Block is undergoing a broader restructuring, and the company has begun notifying hundreds of employees that their positions may be cut during the annual performance review, with the layoff rate potentially reaching 10%.Block has launched a restructuring plan in 2024 aimed at improving efficiency and adjusting its product line, as the company is working to more closely integrate its peer-to-peer payment platform Cash App with its merchant services division Square.It is reported that Block plans to release its quarterly financial report on February 26. Analysts predict that Block's fourth-quarter profit will reach $403 million, with revenue expected to hit $6.25 billion.

According to market news, informed sources indicate that Polygon has recently implemented a large-scale internal layoff, with about 30% of employees being dismissed this week. On social media, several Polygon-related employees and ecosystem members have posted information about resignations or team changes.This layoff occurs after Polygon's strategic shift towards stablecoin payment and the completion of the acquisition of Coinme and Sequence for a total of $250 million. Polygon Labs' communications director, Kurt Patat, confirmed that the layoffs are part of the team integration measures following the acquisition, and the total number of employees is expected to remain stable.