Crypto.com cut 12% of its workforce — about 180 people — on March 19, 2026. Gemini's cuts reached 30% since the start of the year, about 200 employees. Block laid off over 4,000 people in February, nearly 40% of its staff. All three companies said the same thing: AI made these jobs unnecessary. Crypto job postings are down 80% from last year, and entire sectors like restaking and DePIN have collapsed.

1. Adapt or Die (Crypto.com, Gemini, Block)

"Companies that do not make this pivot immediately will fail."

Crypto.com's CEO framed this as existential. Kris Marszalek said the cuts targeted "roles that do not adapt in our new world" and warned that companies refusing to pivot to AI immediately will fail. The company invested $70 million to acquire the ai.com domain and accelerate AI integration across operations.

Gemini used almost identical language. The Winklevoss twins framed AI as essential to Gemini's survival, comparing resistance to showing up to work with a typewriter instead of a laptop. They pitched the 30% headcount reduction as aligning expenses and accelerating a path to profitability — after posting a $582.8 million net loss last year.

Jack Dorsey said smaller teams with AI can do more. Block's 40% cut was the largest of the bunch. Dorsey's pitch: leaner teams supported by AI "can do more and do it better." At least four laid-off Block employees were quietly rehired within days, including one whose departure was called a "clerical error."

2. This Is AI Washing (Dan Escow, Peter Cappelli, Industry Analysts)

The real reason is the crypto market collapsed. AI is the press release.

The leading crypto recruiter says none of this is about AI. Dan Escow, founder of crypto recruitment agency Up Top, said he sees "no real indication that these layoffs have anything to do with AI workforce replacement at scale." The real problem is structural: entire categories like restaking, DePIN, and layer-2 solutions that once employed thousands of people are now basically non-existent.

While a Wharton professor called it speculation disguised as strategy. Peter Cappelli noted that companies are anticipating AI will take over these jobs, but "it hasn't happened yet." The narrative runs ahead of the technology.

Block's immediate rehiring proves the point. When you lay off 40% of your staff for AI efficiency and then rehire people four days later — calling one departure a "clerical error" — the AI narrative loses credibility. Job postings in crypto are down 80% and Bitcoin lost 20% this quarter alone. These are market-driven cuts with an AI press release.

3. These Companies Suck (Employees, Shareholders)

One employee learned she was laid off because she couldn't log in.

The way these layoffs happened tells you everything about the culture. A Singapore-based Crypto.com employee reported finding out about her own layoff when she was locked out of the company's systems. No meeting. No warning. Just a dead login.

Block's staff didn't buy the AI story either. Employees pushed back after Dorsey claimed AI was behind the mass layoffs. This is Crypto.com's third major cut in four years — after 5% in 2022 and 20% after FTX collapsed. Gemini went public in 2025, lost $582.8 million, and is now being sued by shareholders who allege false statements about the platform's viability in IPO marketing.

The pattern isn't AI transformation — it's chronic instability. Companies that can't maintain a stable workforce for more than 18 months aren't optimizing for AI. They're lurching from crisis to crisis and using whatever narrative sounds best at the time.

Where This Lands

The crypto companies are probably right that AI will eventually reshape their operations — the $70 million domain purchase and AI integration plans aren't nothing. But it's possible that timing gives the game away. These cuts happened during a market downturn, after years of repeated layoffs, at companies bleeding money and facing lawsuits.

Sources