Peter Brandt believes that the cryptocurrency market has not reached the bottom yet. If he’s right, Algorand’s decision to cut 25% of its staff may be just one of many similar moves yet to be made in the industry.
Smaller team, fuller roadmap
Algorand Corporation announced the layoffs on Wednesday, citing a difficult stretch in global markets and the ongoing decline in cryptocurrency prices as the driving forces behind the decision.
The Foundation described this step as painful but necessary, saying it had reached a more sustainable alignment between its spending and its long-term goals.
The affected workers were described as major contributors, and the organization said it would assist them during the transition period.
What makes the timing unusual is what the organization is planning for next year. Reports indicate that the organization is still moving forward with several major projects — including the next big update to its developer toolkit AlgoKit, the launch of a new wallet called Rocca, and ongoing work on post-quantum security.
Laying off a quarter of your team while announcing an ambitious workload is a balancing act, and it remains to be seen whether the remaining employees can handle the load.
Today, Algorand has made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 25%. This decision was not made lightly and is a response to the uncertain global macro environment as well as the broader downturn in cryptocurrency markets.
These employees were best in class…
— Algorand Foundation (@AlgoFoundation) March 18, 2026
Bitcoin is down 44%, and counting
Layoffs did not happen in a vacuum. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $70,000 – roughly 45% below its all-time high of $126,000, which it reached in October.
At its lowest levels earlier this year, it fell to $60,000. For institutions that hold portions of their treasury in cryptocurrencies, a decline like this translates directly into less money to pay employees and fund operations.
Algorand was not sitting still. Based on a roadmap update in December, the organization said it had doubled the amount of ALGO bets online – from about one billion to two billion – over just over a year.
This type of growth indicates momentum on the technical side, even as financial pressures mount.
This is not the first time the cryptocurrency industry has done this
The cryptocurrency world has gone through rounds of staff cuts before. During the 2022 recession, Coinbase reduced headcount by 18%, and Gemini cut 10% of its workforce.
Both moves came at a time when Bitcoin was trading near two-year lows at $21,000.
This week, blockchain data company Messari also announced layoffs and the departure of its CEO, who resigned as the company shifted its focus toward artificial intelligence.
Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, recently said that the sector may see more consolidation in the future, with larger companies absorbing smaller companies and cutting back on overlapping roles in the process.
For the Algorand Foundation, the message is clear and direct: do more with less, and stay the course.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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