Algorand Cuts 25% of Staff, Crypto.com Lays Off 180 in AI Pivot

The crypto industry is experiencing another round of workforce reductions. Algorand Foundation has cut a quarter of its employees amid a prolonged market downturn, while Crypto.com eliminated roughly 180 positions as part of a company-wide AI integration strategy. At the same time, Jack Dorsey's Block finds itself in an awkward position — the company has started rehiring workers it laid off just weeks earlier.

Algorand Foundation Blames Macro Uncertainty and Market Decline

Algorand Foundation — the nonprofit overseeing the development of the Layer-1 Algorand blockchain — announced on March 18 that it would reduce its workforce by 25%. According to LinkedIn, the organization employs fewer than 200 people.

"Today, the Algorand Foundation made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 25%. This decision was not taken lightly and is in response to the uncertain global macro environment as well as the broader downturn in crypto markets.These employees have been best-in-class…" — Algorand Foundation (@AlgoFoundation), original post

The foundation stated it has aligned its resources with the protocol's long-term priorities. Its mission remains unchanged: financial empowerment and sustainable ecosystem growth.

According to the foundation's latest financial report, its reserves stand at approximately $38 million in fiat and 1.1 million native ALGO tokens. Following the announcement, ALGO's price dropped 3.6% to $0.08. The token ranks 78th by market capitalization at $805.8 million.

ALGO/USDT hourly chart on Binance. Source: TradingView

Crypto.com Bets Big on Artificial Intelligence

Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek announced on March 19 that the company was cutting 12% of its workforce — approximately 180 employees. The primary driver: enterprise-wide AI adoption across all business operations.

"We are joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI. Companies that do not make this pivot immediately will fail. Companies that move slowly will be left behind. Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top-performers will achieve a level of…" — Kris | ai.com (@kris), original post

Marszalek said the layoffs targeted roles that "do not adapt" to the new strategy. Affected employees have already been notified, and the leadership pledged transitional support. The Crypto.com CEO also warned that companies unwilling to take a similar step immediately are "destined to fail," while those moving slowly will be left behind by competitors.

Why This Matters

The layoffs at Algorand and Crypto.com are part of a broader trend sweeping through the digital asset industry. Companies face a dual pressure: a prolonged crypto market downturn eroding revenues and the rapid advancement of AI tools capable of replacing entire job categories.

Earlier in March, OP Labs — the team behind Optimism — laid off 20 people to streamline operations and cut costs. Analytics platform Messari also announced a leadership change and a wave of staff reductions. The scale of these cuts points to a structural shift across the sector.

Block's Layoff Blunder: Firing Then Rehiring

Jack Dorsey's Block serves as a cautionary tale about hasty AI-driven restructuring. In late February, the company let go of approximately 4,000 employees, framing the move as an AI-driven transformation. By early March, however, Block had already started bringing some of those workers back.

Design engineer Andrew Garvard posted on LinkedIn on March 3 about his return to Block. He was told his termination had been a "technical error." Tech lead Richard Gesse found himself the only person on his team not laid off and spent two days convincing management that he needed people to work on client-critical infrastructure.

In a March 8 post, Gesse shared that his arguments were heard and some of the fired employees were rehired. Teams were not fully restored, but enough people were brought back to continue operations. Creative strategist Shane Rennie also confirmed he was offered his position back one week after being let go.

When announcing the mass layoffs, Dorsey himself acknowledged the move might not be perfect. He attributed the reorganization to a breakthrough in AI that "fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company." Former Block employees told The Guardian they doubted AI could fully replace human workers. Some viewed Dorsey's decision as an attempt to regain investor confidence — Block's stock has declined more than 25% over the past six months.