Author: CoinDesk
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
Deep Tide Guide: Algorand, Gemini, Crypto.com, and OP Labs have laid off employees successively within weeks, with official reasons half pointing to "poor macroeconomic conditions" and half to "AI replacing human labor."
However, the founder of a crypto recruitment agency directly pointed out: these layoffs have little to do with AI and are more like the result of the collective contraction of the entire sector—restaking, DePIN, L2.
A channel blogger reminded that the actual number of layoffs is much higher than the publicly disclosed figures.
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Key Points
- Algorand, Gemini, Block, Crypto.com, OP Labs, PIP Labs, and Messari have all recently laid off employees
- Reasons given by companies range from low token prices to AI integration
- Messari has completed three rounds of layoffs since 2023, reducing staff from a target of 1,000 to about 140 currently
The Algorand Foundation joined the ranks of crypto companies laying off staff on Wednesday, cutting 25% of its team of fewer than 200 people, citing "uncertain global macroeconomic conditions" and a broader crypto market downturn.
These layoffs come as a wave of job cuts spreads across the industry. In February, Gemini Space Station announced cutting about 200 positions, a quarter of its workforce, and by mid-March, this proportion had expanded to 30%. On Thursday, Crypto.com said it would cut 12%, about 180 positions.
Previously, OP Labs, which builds the L2 blockchain Optimism, cut 20 employees earlier this month; PIP Labs, behind Story Protocol, cut 5 full-time employees and 3 contractors, 10% of its workforce; and crypto data provider Messari, now positioning itself as an AI-first company, announced its third round of layoffs since 2023 alongside a CEO change, though it did not disclose specific numbers.
The official explanations from companies vary. Algorand directly pointed to macroeconomic conditions and low token prices, but many companies characterized the layoffs as a transition toward greater use of AI in workflows.
"AI is now so powerful that Gemini cannot afford not to use it," the company said in a letter to shareholders. "Not using AI at Gemini would soon be like bringing a typewriter to work instead of a laptop."
"We are joining the ranks of companies integrating AI across the enterprise," a Crypto.com spokesperson told CoinDesk on Thursday, noting that efficiency improvements have reduced the need for employees. CEO Kris Marszalek said on X that companies that do not transition to AI integration will fail.
Algorand's layoffs reportedly affected community management and business development roles, which are not obviously replaceable by AI. To be fair, the company blamed the broader crypto environment. Its ALGO token recently traded around $0.09, down 98% from its 2019 high. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has fallen 20% this quarter.
Industry Consolidation
Industry observers point to broader consolidation dynamics. Entire crypto sectors that were once talent-rich—such as restaking, DePIN, and L2—have shrunk significantly, while merger and acquisition activity is also increasing redundancies, with employees from acquired companies replacing existing ones.
"I haven't seen any real signs that these layoffs are related to large-scale AI workforce replacement," said Dan Escow, founder of crypto recruitment agency Up Top. "Entire sectors that were once strong in talent—restaking, DePIN, and L2—are basically gone now. Companies are forced into cost-cutting mode, buying time to figure out how to execute next."
The broader hiring landscape supports this assessment. In January, new job postings on major crypto recruitment sites averaged about 6.5 per day, down about 80% from the same period a year ago.
Just the companies mentioned in this article—excluding Messari, which did not disclose numbers—have announced about 450 job cuts in weeks. This may only be the tip of the iceberg. During the crypto winter of 2022, CoinDesk tracked over 26,000 job losses throughout the year, a number that took months to fully emerge.
