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Encryption and payment companies face a "layoff wave" driven by AI, market questions true motives
BlockBeats News, May 6—Recently, multiple cryptocurrency and payment companies have announced large-scale layoffs, citing their embrace of artificial intelligence, triggering widespread skepticism among investors and analysts about “AI whitewashing.” Since Block announced layoffs of 50% in February this year, Gemini, Coinbase, and PayPal have followed suit.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said, “The biggest risk right now is not taking action,” and the company is adjusting in advance to build an organization that is “lean, fast, and AI-native.” PayPal plans to save $1.5 billion over the next two to three years through AI transformation, and it will cut 20% of its workforce. 0G Labs, which develops blockchain systems for AI agents, also laid off 25% at the end of April.
However, market observers note that Bitcoin has fallen by about one-third from its peak last October, trading activity has been lackluster, competition in the payments industry has intensified, and the companies themselves also face certain specific problems (such as Block’s overhiring during the boom period and PayPal’s new CEO pushing for transformation). Therefore, it is difficult to tell whether the layoffs are truly driven by AI efficiency gains or are meant to cover up business difficulties.
The layoffs news has led to divergent stock performance among these companies: since Block announced the layoffs, its shares have risen by about 38%; PayPal fell as much as 12% on Tuesday; and Coinbase was down nearly 4% during intraday trading.