BitGo Trims 15%, Pivots to AI and Stablecoins — First $BTGO Layoff Goes Down to the Wire

Crypto infrastructure company BitGo Holdings laid off about 15% of its staff on Thursday, with co-founder and CEO Mike Belshe framing the cuts as a one-time reallocation toward 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 to X on Thursday. "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 staff affected. Its 2025 annual report, published in March, disclosed 603 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2025, implying roughly 90 roles. Its IPO prospectus cited about 565 full-time employees as of mid-2025, a figure that points to approximately 85 jobs. Belshe called the layoffs "a one-time action" and said BitGo does not "anticipate further reductions." The company's job board still listed 51 open roles across various regions. BitGo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The cuts come months after BitGo went public. It priced its IPO at $18 a share in January, raising about $213 million at a valuation above $2 billion. First-quarter revenue surged 112.6% from a year earlier to $3.8 billion, though net losses widened. Full-year 2025 results listed $16.2 billion in revenue, up more than fourfold, with adjusted EBITDA of $32.4 million and a $14.8 million net loss after a drop in its Bitcoin ($BTC) treasury. In December, BitGo received a federal trust bank charter from the OCC, and in April it launched a minting tool aimed at the stablecoin sector.

Shares in BitGo, trading as $BTGO, closed Thursday down 4.67% at $4.80, extending a nearly 73% slide from the $18 IPO price set on Jan. 22. Thomas Braziel, founder of distressed-crypto firm 117 Partners, weighed in on the strategy: "I mean – BitGo is the highest cost operator for BTC storage on the planet so I get it," he wrote in a post.

The reductions place BitGo among more than 5,000 crypto-industry job cuts recorded so far in 2026. Block Inc. led the year with 4,000 layoffs, about half its workforce, in February; Coinbase cut about 700 employees, or 14% of its workforce, in May, citing an AI-first operating model; Kraken let go of 150 staff in May; data company Dune cut 25% in May; Gemini laid off 200; Crypto.com shed about 180; and Robinhood trimmed 10% on June 16. Across the wider U.S. technology sector, more than 121,500 layoffs have been announced by over 200 companies this year, according to Layoffs.fyi.