Layoffs hit crypto industry twice in 2 days

The last few months have been nothing but tumultuous for the crypto industry. Shutdowns and bankruptcies of different companies keep making news.

Worse, several employees working at leading crypto firms have lost their jobs in the past few months.

Whether crypto trading exchanges such as OKX and Gemini Space Station (NASDAQ: GEMI) or the blockchain firms such as MANTRA, some of the leading brands in the crypto industry have fired staff in recent months.

Sometimes, it’s a restructuring process; sometimes, artificial intelligence (AI).

Now, it has come to light that two leading crypto companies have announced layoffs in a span of two days.

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Launched in 2019, Algorand Foundation is a layer-1 blockchain network that runs on the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

The organization announced on March 18 that it has laid off 25% of its staff due to “uncertain” macro conditions and the “broader downturn” in the crypto market.

The company said it now has a “more sustainable” alignment of resources with the blockchain project’s long-term business, technology, and ecosystem priorities.

Algorand Foundation made the announcement within hours of posting the latest update from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that ALGO, the project’s native token, is a commodity—not a security.

The ALGO token was trading at $0.08806 at press time, down 3% over the last 24 hours. However, the slide in the token’s price is part of the broader market downturn, not merely a reaction to the layoff news.

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com is a crypto trading exchange based in Singapore. With 100 million registered accounts and $750 billion in trading volume in 2025, it is one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the world.

On March 19, founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said the exchange is laying off around 12% of its staff as part of AI integration. He made an argument similar to Block founder Jack Dorsey’s that companies that don’t immediately integrate AI at the enterprise level will fail and the roles being wiped out don’t adapt in the new world.

Marszalek expressed gratitude for the contribution of departing members and said they are receiving resources to support the transition.