{"slug": "bitgo-joins-crypto-s-ai-layoff-wave-slashing-staff-by-15", "title": "BitGo Joins Crypto's AI Layoff Wave, Slashing Staff by 15%", "summary": "Crypto custody firm BitGo is cutting nearly 15% of its staff, CEO Mike Belshe announced Thursday, citing a strategic pivot to AI-powered infrastructure. The layoffs affect roughly 90 employees and follow similar moves by Coinbase, Block, and Robinhood amid a crypto market downturn. BitGo shares fell nearly 5% on the news, trading 73% below their January IPO price.", "body_md": "#### In brief\n\n- Crypto custody and infrastructure firm BitGo is cutting nearly 15% of its staff, CEO Mike Belshe said Thursday, calling it a \"one-time\" move.\n- Belshe framed the cuts as a refocusing on security, trading, stablecoins, settlement, and \"AI-powered infrastructure.\"\n- BitGo is the latest crypto company to trim its headcount in 2026, joining Coinbase, Block, and Robinhood in a wave of cuts tied to AI and a market downturn.\n\nBitGo has joined the growing ranks of crypto firms slashing staff numbers as part of a pivot to AI.\n\nThe crypto custody and infrastructure company is cutting nearly 15% of its workforce, co-founder and CEO Mike Belshe said Thursday in a [tweet](https://twitter.com/mikebelshe/status/2070240967479996463) that BitGo also [filed](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1740604/000174060426000040/btgo-exhibit991_20260625.htm) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.\n\n\"The ecosystem has evolved, and the way we build financial services has changed dramatically.,\" Belshe wrote, announcing that BitGo would focus its efforts on “security, trading, stablecoins, settlement, and AI-powered infrastructure.”\n\nBitGo did not confirm how many jobs were affected. Its [2025 annual report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1740604/000174060426000020/btgo-form10xk.htm) listed 603 full-time employees, implying roughly 90 roles. Belshe called the layoffs \"a one-time action\" and said BitGo does not anticipate further cuts, noting that its job board still lists dozens of open positions.\n\nThe reductions come months after BitGo went public. It [priced its IPO](https://decrypt.co/354270/crypto-firm-bitgo-targets-2-billion-valuation-us-ipo-filing) at $18 a share in January, raising about $213 million and valuing the firm above $2 billion. First-quarter revenue then surged 112.6% from a year earlier to $3.8 billion, though net losses widened.\n\nInvestors were unmoved. BitGo shares, which trade as BTGO, fell nearly 5% on Thursday to close at $4.80, some 73% below their IPO price, per [Yahoo! Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTGO/).\n\nBitGo joins a lengthening line of crypto and tech firms shedding staff in 2026. Jack Dorsey's Block [slashed 4,000 jobs](https://decrypt.co/359349/block-stock-pops-jack-dorseys-bitcoin-company-dumps-4000-jobs) in February, around 40% of its workforce, citing an “increased reliance on automation, proactive intelligence capabilities and AI tools.” In May, Coinbase [cut 14% of its workforce](https://decrypt.co/366765/coinbase-cuts-14-of-staff-amid-crypto-down-market-ai-adoption-ceo) while crypto data firm Dune let go of [a quarter of its staff](https://decrypt.co/367949/dune-analytics-slashes-25-of-workforce-in-ai-institutional-pivot). A month later, Robinhood [trimmed 10%](https://decrypt.co/371290/robinhood-trims-headcount-10-crypto-revenue-crunch) amid a crypto revenue crunch.\n\nAcross the wider tech sector, [more than 120,000 jobs](https://layoffs.fyi/) have been cut since the start of the year, with firms including [Microsoft and PayPal citing AI](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/22/the-running-list-major-tech-layoffs-in-2026-where-employers-cited-ai/) as a core driver behind the downsizing. Whether AI is the dominant factor is the subject of an ongoing debate, with some [arguing](https://theconversation.com/tech-companies-are-blaming-massive-layoffs-on-ai-whats-really-going-on-278314) that it forms a convenient explanation for layoffs in the midst of a market downturn.\n\n### Daily Debrief Newsletter\n\nStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/bitgo-joins-crypto-s-ai-layoff-wave-slashing-staff-by-15", "canonical_source": "https://decrypt.co/372164/bitgo-joins-cryptos-ai-layoff-wave-slashing-staff-by-15", "published_at": "2026-06-26 10:15:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-29 00:07:54.370742+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["BitGo", "Mike Belshe", "Coinbase", "Block", "Robinhood", "SEC", "BTGO", "Yahoo! 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