A wave of layoffs is spreading throughout the cryptocurrency industry. What becomes apparent from the recent shareholder letter released by Gemini is a quite serious situation. They plan to cut about 30% of their staff starting in early 2026, currently maintaining around 445 employees. The underlying reason is a significant loss of $585 million annually. Although they just went public on Nasdaq last September, their losses in the fourth quarter have swollen to $140.8 million. This is despite a 40% year-over-year increase in revenue to $60 million.

What’s interesting is that Gemini is trying to overcome this crisis by leveraging AI for efficiency. It’s not just about cost-cutting; they are shifting their entire management strategy toward AI. However, the market environment remains quite tough. Bitcoin has fallen 44% from its October high, and trading volumes are also sluggish. Their global market share is less than 1%. In contrast, Coinbase has roughly 11 times more employees and about 42 times higher daily trading volume.

Layoffs are not limited to Gemini. Restructuring is happening across the entire industry. A major exchange recently cut 12% of its staff. Algorand reduced about 25%. OP Labs eliminated approximately 20 positions. Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. cut over 4,000 employees, bringing their total below 6,000. This industry-wide trend of personnel reduction suggests more than just a cyclical downturn; it indicates structural changes. The shift toward AI-driven operations, market reorganization, and scale optimization are all progressing simultaneously. It’s worth watching which companies will survive and which players will gain an advantage in this new competitive environment.