AI Becomes the New Operating Model

Crypto.com is slashing 12% of its workforce as it accelerates a sweeping artificial intelligence overhaul — highlighting how automation is beginning to displace human roles across the crypto industry.

This move comes as many other crypto firms and Big Tech are similarly recalibrating their company towards automation, replacing roles with machine-driven efficiency

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek explains how the company's move is a reflection of the general trend, and how companies that don't pivot will fall.

"We are joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI"

The company recently launched its AI agent platform, ai.com, in February, which the company positioned as a core pillar of its future strategy. Crypto.com also secured ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification for AI system management, reinforcing its push to embed AI deeply into operations.

With around 1,500 employees, the cuts could affect roughly 180 staff members. A company spokesperson added that the layoffs also serve in "aiding the company prioritise resources around key growth areas".

The move reflects a broader industry shift where AI is no longer augmenting jobs — it is increasingly replacing them.

Blockchain analytics platform Messari has laid off roughly 15% of its full time employees back in January last year, and made a similar workforce reduction back in February 2023.

Similarly, Algorand Foundation, the organizer behind Layer-1 blockchain Algorand, recently announced a 25% reduction in its workforce, citing macroeconomics uncertianty and the current crypto market slump.

Block, founded by Jack Dorsey, also announced plans to cut around 40% of staff, citing AI acceleration as a key factor. However, some of the 4,000 fired workers had since returned to the company, according to multiple employees who were part of the initial layoffs.

Across sectors, companies are increasingly betting that automation can scale faster — and more cheaply — than human labor.

The Human Cost of the AI Pivot

As automation accelerates, workers face displacement, reskilling pressure, and an uncertain transition. The rapid shift toward AI raises a deeper question: what happens to workers as machines take over more tasks?

While companies frame AI as a driver of efficiency and growth, the near-term impact is clear — fewer roles and leaner teams. Tasks once handled by entire departments are increasingly being absorbed by algorithms, compressing traditional job functions.

For employees, this means adapting quickly, learning new skills, or facing displacement in an increasingly automated economy. Over time, AI may create new categories of jobs, particularly in oversight, development, and integration.

However, the transition period is proving uneven, with job losses arriving faster than new opportunities are being created. Crypto.com’s layoffs are therefore not an isolated event, but part of a broader structural shift reshaping the global workforce.

As AI becomes the backbone of modern companies, success may depend less on headcount — and more on how effectively firms deploy code instead of people.