The non-profit Algorand Foundation has announced a 25% reduction in its workforce. This decision is attributed to the "uncertain macroeconomic environment and the downturn in the crypto market," the organization stated.
Today, the Algorand Foundation made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 25%. This decision was not taken lightly and is in response to the uncertain global macro environment as well as the broader downturn in crypto markets.
— Algorand Foundation (@AlgoFoundation) March 18, 2026
These employees have been best-in-class…
“We have aligned the Foundation's resources with the long-term priorities of the protocol. Our mission remains unchanged: financial empowerment and sustainable ecosystem growth,” the Foundation stated.
The organization focuses on developing the Algorand Layer 1 blockchain. According to LinkedIn, it employs fewer than 200 people. The latest financial report indicates that the organization holds approximately $38 million in fiat and 1.1 million native ALGO tokens.
Following the announcement, the asset's price dropped by 3.6% to $0.08. The coin ranks 78th among cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, valued at $805.8 million.
Hourly chart of ALGO/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView.
Betting on AI
Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek announced a 12% workforce reduction, affecting around 180 employees. The primary reason cited was the integration of artificial intelligence across all processes.
We are joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI. Companies that do not make this pivot immediately will fail. Companies that move slowly will be left behind. Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top-performers will achieve a level of…
— Kris | ai.com (@kris) March 19, 2026
According to him, the layoffs affected roles that "do not adapt" to the new strategy. Employees have already been notified, and management has promised to support them during the transition.
He also warned that companies that do not take similar steps immediately are "doomed to fail."
“Those who move slowly will be left behind. Those who act quickly and combine the best AI tools with top talent will achieve scale and precision that was previously impossible,” wrote the CEO of Crypto.com.
Jack Dorsey's Misstep
In late February, Block, led by Jack Dorsey, laid off about 4,000 employees as part of a strategy to transition to AI technologies. However, by early March, the company began to rehire some of the laid-off staff.
On March 3, designer Andrew Harvard wrote on LinkedIn about his return to Block, stating that his layoff was due to a "technical error."
Tech lead Richard Gesse shared that he was the only one in his team not affected by the layoffs. For two days, he convinced management that he needed people to work on "mission-critical infrastructure for clients."
“I was heard, and they decided to rehire some of the laid-off staff. The teams are not fully restored, but I now have enough people to continue working,” Gesse explained in a post on March 8.
Creative strategist Chain Rennie also noted that he was offered to return just a week after his layoff.
When announcing the mass layoffs, Dorsey acknowledged that this move might not be ideal. He explained that the reorganization was a breakthrough in AI that "fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company."
In a conversation with The Guardian, former employees expressed doubts about the ability of neural networks to fully replace human workers. Some viewed Dorsey's move as an attempt to regain investor confidence amid falling stock prices. Over the past six months, Block's shares have dropped by more than 25%.
Additionally, in March, OP Labs, the company behind Optimism, laid off 20 employees to streamline internal processes and reduce costs.
A few days later, the analytics platform Messari also reported a leadership change and a wave of layoffs.