Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is cutting about 12% of its workforce, or roughly 180 employees, as it leans toward AI-powered efficiency, joining a growing wave of companies downsizing their teams as they bank on automation.
“We join the list of companies integrating AI across the enterprise,” a Crypto.com spokesperson told CoinDesk. “As we continue to prioritize resources in key growth areas and drive efficiencies across our business, we reduced our workforce by approximately 12%.”
Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, said in X that companies that do not pivot towards integrating AI into their processes will fail.
“Companies that move slowly will be left behind,” he added. “Companies that act quickly and combine the best AI tools with the highest performance will achieve a level of scale and precision that was impossible before. That’s where we need to go.”
In February, Marszalek said Crypto.com spent $70 million to buy ai.com, signaling his company’s move into artificial intelligence, a sector that will reach nearly $1.5 trillion in global spending by 2025, according to Gartner.
The Singapore-based exchange had about 1,500 employees before the cuts.
The move marks the latest round of layoffs at Crypto.com, which has cut staff several times in recent years amid changing market conditions and internal restructuring, including a 20% workforce reduction in 2023.
Crypto.com’s layoffs also follow Block’s decision to reduce its 6,000-person workforce by 40%. Its founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey, cited productivity gains from AI as the reason for the cuts. He said AI allows smaller teams to move faster.
In January, OKX announced it was restructuring its global institutional business, resulting in job losses that it said were not a “mass layoff.” The exchange did not mention the exact number. That same month, Polygon laid off 60 employees, disputing reports that it laid off 30% of its staff. In the United States, the technology industry eliminated around 22,291 jobs last year.
The Crypto.com spokesperson said that all employees, who numbered approximately 1,500 worldwide before the layoff, have been notified and will receive resources to support their transition.
The Singapore-based exchange, which had 100 million registered accounts and approximately $750 billion in trading volume in 2025, recently received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, laying the groundwork for the exchange to expand its custody services under federal supervision.
