Bitget App
Trade smarter
Buy cryptoMarketsTradeFuturesEarnSquareMore
Crypto sector cuts 40 percent of workforce between 2022 and 2024

Crypto sector cuts 40 percent of workforce between 2022 and 2024

CointurkCointurk2026/05/26 13:12
By:Cointurk

Between 2021 and 2023, the crypto and Web3 sector experienced a remarkable surge followed by a dramatic downturn. As token prices soared and revenue projections turned optimistic, companies swiftly hired new staff in a race to scale up. Yet, when the markets plunged, more than 26,000 crypto employees around the globe lost their jobs in 2022 alone. Leading exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken each cut their workforce by 20 and 30 percent respectively. By the period between 2022 and 2024, the industry had shed a total of 40 percent of its workforce.

Key transformation: Depth over headcount

Despite the large-scale layoffs, companies that were least affected shared one crucial trait: they avoided bloated organizations. Infrastructure-focused startups and technically robust teams managed to survive—and even thrive—amid the contraction. Teams that built Layer 2 solutions, cryptography infrastructure, institutional compliance systems, and cross-chain compatibility technologies gained strength during the industry downturn. For example, Startale, the developer behind Ethereum-based Layer 2 network Soneium, continued to steadily grow its infrastructure despite the sector’s widespread retrenchment.

Glossary: Layer 2 refers to auxiliary networks built on top of the main blockchain (Layer 1) to boost transaction capacity and lower costs. Soneium is a Layer 2 network operating on Ethereum.

Concentrated talent and efficiency

The majority of technology advances in crypto were not driven by large teams but rather by small groups of highly skilled specialists collaborating closely. Historically, Ethereum’s core team achieved breakthroughs such as zero-knowledge proofs and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with just a handful of experts. Now, as the industry recovers, in-demand specialties include compliance engineering, cybersecurity, AI-crypto integration, and enterprise-scale system design. Although industry job postings showed a 47 percent rebound in 2025, the majority of roles targeted highly qualified, interdisciplinary professionals.

Analysts observe that in the Web3 ecosystem, the companies emerging stronger from layoffs tend to be those focused on depth and expertise over short-term expansion. Technically advanced teams are expected to drive the next wave of innovation.

Ambitious goals with compact teams

Startale’s central challenge is to build blockchain infrastructure that ensures regulatory compliance while scaling to a broad user base. Though Soneium only launched in the first quarter of 2025, it quickly surpassed 600 million transactions and reached 5.4 million active wallets. Today, over 250 applications—ranging from games and music to AI-powered content and creator tools—run on Soneium, the majority developed by independent programmers. Additionally, Startale allocated a $250,000 prize pool under the Superstars program to attract top-tier developers.

Fostering interdisciplinary expertise and flexible cooperation in teams is not achieved by simply hiring more people, but by assembling conscious, focused groups in the right fields. This approach enables companies to prioritize long-term stability and innovation over short-lived layoffs. As a result, those who invested in quality rather than size emerged from the 2022–2024 contraction stronger and more resilient.

Year Number of Laid-off Employees Focusing Companies
2022 26,000+ Infrastructure and Layer 2 solutions
2024 40 percent overall workforce reduction Multi-disciplinary, small teams

0
0

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

Understand the market, then trade.
Bitget offers one-stop trading for cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold.
Trade now!