BitGo Shifts to AI
Crypto Firm BitGo Lays Off 15% Amid Stock Plunge and AI-Powered Infrastructure Pivot
Key Points
BitGo priced its IPO at $18 per share in January, raising about $213 million and valuing the company above $2 billion.
BitGo’s stock closed at $4.80 on the layoff day, about 73% below its January IPO price, signaling a substantial post-IPO decline.
The layoff occurred amid a broader wave of crypto and tech job cuts, with Block cutting about 4,000 jobs (~40% of its workforce), Coinbase cutting around 14%, Dune 25%, and Robinhood 10%.
BitGo announced the layoff in conjunction with filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
BitGo, the crypto custody and infrastructure firm, is cutting nearly 15% of its workforce in what CEO Mike Belshe called a "one-time action" to refocus the company. The layoffs hit roughly 85–90 employees, based on the 603 full-time workers Unchained counted in BitGo's 2025 annual report.
Belshe announced the cuts via X on June 25, saying the company needs to be "sharper, more focused" on "security, trading, stablecoins, settlement, and AI-powered infrastructure." The news sent BitGo's stock (BTGO) down to $4.80 — a 73% drop from its $18 IPO price just six months ago, according to Decrypt.
A 73% Stock Collapse Shadows the Cuts
BitGo went public on the New York Stock Exchange in January 2026, pricing its IPO at $18 per share and raising about $213 million. Shares briefly surged to $24.50 on the first day of trading. By the day of the layoff announcement, the stock had collapsed to $4.80, according to Unchained.
The company's Q1 2026 revenue hit $3.8 billion — a 112.6% year-over-year jump — but net losses widened, spooking investors, Decrypt reported. Some analysts see the layoffs as damage control after a brutal post-IPO slide, not just a clean strategic shift. BitGo manages roughly $104 billion in assets.
AI and Stablecoins Replace Traditional Custody Jobs
Belshe framed the restructuring as a bet on the future of institutional finance. "The ecosystem has evolved, and the way we build financial services has changed dramatically," he wrote on X. The cuts target roles in traditional custody and manual operations — areas increasingly replaced by automated, AI-driven systems.
Despite the layoffs, BitGo is still hiring for 51 open roles across the U.S., Canada, India, Singapore, Dubai, and Brazil, according to Unchained. The focus is on AI engineering, stablecoin infrastructure, and settlement rails — higher-margin work that requires fewer people to scale.
BitGo Joins a Sweeping 2026 Crypto Layoff Wave
BitGo is far from alone. Block slashed 4,000 jobs — about 40% of its workforce — earlier this year. Coinbase cut 14%, or around 700 employees, in May. Robinhood trimmed 10% on June 16. Dune cut 25%. Across crypto and tech, more than 5,688 jobs have been eliminated at 29 companies in 2026, per Decrypt.
Most companies cite two things: AI efficiency gains and a tough market. Bitcoin hovered near $80,000 in mid-2026, down about 36% from its October 2025 peak, according to Yahoo Finance. That price pressure squeezes revenue for firms that built large teams during the bull market.
Banking Charter and Regulatory Tailwinds Fuel the Pivot
BitGo received approval for a U.S. banking charter in December 2025, alongside Ripple and Circle. That charter lets BitGo operate as a federally regulated trust bank — a major step toward offering stablecoin issuance and settlement services, CoinCodeCap reported.
The pending CLARITY Act is also expected to create a clearer legal framework for stablecoin issuers in 2026. Analysts at Unchained argue that custodians who can offer AI-optimized infrastructure and stablecoin services will command higher margins than pure storage vaults — exactly the direction BitGo is now pointing.
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