Crypto.com slashes 12% of workforce as it pivots to enterprise AI

Crypto.com, the Singapore-based digital asset exchange, is cutting roughly 12% of its workforce as part of a company-wide transition to artificial intelligence.

CEO Kris Marszalek said in a statement on X on Thursday that the cuts were necessary for survival in an increasingly automated industry. Marszalek warned that firms that are slow to adopt AI tools will be outpaced by competitors.

“Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top performers will achieve a level of scale and precision that was previously impossible. This is where we must go,” he stated.

An employee in Singapore said she discovered the job cuts after losing access to Slack in the morning, The Straits Times reported.

A senior executive said the organization had grown “layered and siloed,” slowing execution, and that it must better adopt new tools and technologies to improve efficiency.

Third round of layoffs in recent years

The layoffs are the third round of workforce reductions for the exchange, following cuts in 2022 that eliminated roughly 260 employees, about 5% of staff, and another round in 2023 that reduced headcount by approximately 20%.

Affected workers have been notified and are receiving transition support, according to the company, though Marszalek offered few specifics on which departments or roles were targeted.

Crypto.com’s job cuts come amid ongoing restructuring across the crypto industry, where firms have been scaling back operations following a market downturn.

Just yesterday, Algorand Foundation announced a 25% reduction in its workforce.

Other layoffs announced in the crypto industry this year include Block (40% of its team, or over 4,000 employees), OP Labs (20 employees), Gemini (25% of its team), OKX, and Messari.