Crypto.com cuts 12% of staff as it integrates AI across the business for efficiency
The exchange laid off about 180 employees as it restructures and rolls out enterprise-wide AI to drive efficiencies.
By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Omkar Godbole Mar 19, 2026, 11:44 a.m.
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What to know:
- Crypto.com has laid off about 12% of its roughly 1,500-person workforce, or around 180 employees, as it restructures and doubles down on artificial intelligence to boost efficiency.
- Chief executive Kris Marszalek has warned that companies that fail to rapidly integrate AI into their operations will be "left behind," following the firm's $70 million purchase of the ai.com domain and broader industry spending on AI.
- The cuts mark the latest in a series of workforce reductions at Crypto.com and come amid similar AI-linked layoffs across the tech and crypto sectors, even as the exchange secures conditional U.S. approval to launch a federally regulated crypto trust bank.
Singapore-based crypto exchange Crypto.com is cutting about 12% of its workforce, or roughly 180 employees, as it leans into AI-driven efficiency, joining a growing wave of firms shrinking teams while betting on automation.
"We are joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI," a Crypto.com spokesperson told CoinDesk. "As we continue to prioritize resources around key growth areas and drive efficiencies across our business, we reduced our workforce by approximately 12%."
Kris Marszalek, Crypto.com's CEO, on X said companies that do not pivot toward the integration of AI into their processes will fail.
"Companies that move slowly will be left behind," he added. "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."
In February, Marszalek said Crypto.com spent $70 million to buy ai.com, signaling his company's move into artificial intelligence, a sector that reached nearly $1.5 trillion in worldwide spending in 2025, according to Gartner.
The Singapore-headquartered exchange had around 1,500 employees before the cuts.
The move marks the latest round of layoffs at Crypto.com, which has trimmed staff multiple times in recent years amid shifting 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-strong workforce by 40%. Its founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey, cited AI-enabled productivity gains 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 it claimed were not a "mass layoff." The exchange didn't mention the exact number. That same month, Polygon laid off 60 employees, disputing reports it let go 30% of its staff. In the U.S., the technology industry cut about 22,291 jobs last year.
The Crypto.com spokesperson said all employees, who before the layoff totalled roughly 1,500 worldwide, have been notified and will receive resources to support their transition.
The Singapore-based exchange, which boasted 100 million registered accounts and approximately $750 billion in trading volume in 2025, recently received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, setting the stage for the exchange to expand its custody services under federal oversight.
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