BitGo Slims Down by 15%, Pivots Toward AI and Stablecoins as Crypto Layoffs Top 5,000 🪙

Crypto infrastructure firm BitGo Holdings laid off about 15% of its staff on Thursday, with co-founder and CEO Mike Belshe framing the reduction as a one-time move to sharpen the company's focus on security, trading, stablecoins, settlement and AI-powered infrastructure. "Today I'm sharing a hard decision: we are reducing our workforce by nearly 15%," Belshe posted on X. "The ecosystem has evolved, and the way we build financial services has changed dramatically." He added: "We need to be sharper, more focused, and concentrate our people and energy on the areas that matter most: security, trading, stablecoins, settlement, and AI-powered infrastructure."

BitGo did not confirm the number of employees affected. Its 2025 annual report, published in March, disclosed 603 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2025, implying roughly 90 positions were impacted. A separate figure of about 565 full-time staff was listed in the company's prospectus as of mid-2025, which would place the cut near 85 jobs. Belshe said BitGo does not "anticipate further reductions," and the company is still hiring for 51 roles across various regions, according to its job board.

BitGo, the first major crypto listing of 2026, priced its public debut at $18 a share on Jan. 22. Shares in BitGo ($BTGO) closed Thursday down 4.67% at $4.80, extending a nearly 73% slide from that debut. The company's 2025 results listed $16.2 billion in revenue, up more than fourfold year over year, but adjusted EBITDA reached just $32.4 million and a drop in its Bitcoin ($BTC) treasury contributed to a $14.8 million net loss. BitGo won a federal trust bank charter from the OCC in December and launched a stablecoin minting tool in April.

The cuts come as crypto firms have trimmed more than 5,000 jobs this year. Block Inc. executed the largest round in February, cutting 4,000 staff or about half its workforce. Coinbase shed roughly 700 employees, or about 14% of its workforce, in May; Kraken cut 150 staff the same month; data firm Dune cut 25% of its workforce; and on June 16, Robinhood reduced its headcount by 10%. Earlier in the year, Gemini laid off 200 employees and Crypto.com cut about 180 staff, with both citing rising AI adoption. Across the broader U.S. technology sector, over 121,500 layoffs have been recorded at more than 200 companies in 2026, according to Layoffs.fyi.