Kraken Layoffs
Industry Crypto · Location SF Bay Area · United States · Subscribe (RSS)
Kraken has 3 publicly reported layoff rounds on record between November 30, 2022 and May 15, 2026. A total of about 1,650 employees were affected across these rounds.
Layoff history
A sharp decline in digital-asset prices pushed cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to cut about 150 jobs in mid-May 2026. The company, which operates under the corporate name Payward Inc., made the reductions to lower costs. According to a person familiar with the matter, the cuts followed Kraken's deployment of AI tools that improved efficiency, and the firm planned to use AI more extensively across its operations, with no further reductions planned at the time. The market downturn also led management to weigh delaying its initial public offering, which could slip to 2027 from an earlier expected timeline. Kraken is one of the oldest U.S. crypto exchanges, and the decision showed how renewed volatility in token prices was again pressuring digital-asset firms to trim headcount.
Reason: Cost cutting during a crypto-market downturn, aided by AI efficiency
Source: bloomberg.com
Kraken cut approximately 400 employees, about 15% of its 2,600-person workforce, on October 30, 2024, blaming a management structure that had grown too bloated as the crypto exchange's net revenue crossed $1 billion. Co-CEOs Dave Ripley and newly appointed Arjun Sethi wrote in a blog post that the company had "fell into the trap of building organizational layers" during its rapid growth and was now making "organizational discipline decisions to tackle this problem and eliminate layers." Sethi, co-founder of venture firm Tribe Capital, was named co-CEO on the same day as the cuts, alongside the appointment of Stephanie Lemmerman as CFO. Two senior executives departed as part of the shake-up: chief operating officer Gilles BianRosa and chief technology officer Vishnu Patankar. The company simultaneously launched a desktop trading application and announced plans for "Ink," its own proprietary blockchain, slated for early 2025. No specific severance terms were disclosed.
Reason: Excess management layers, organizational restructuring under new co-CEO
Source: nytimes.com
Kraken disclosed a workforce reduction affecting its SF Bay Area operations in November 30, 2022. Approximately 1,100 roles were eliminated.
Source: blog.kraken.com
Data for Kraken is compiled from public WARN Act filings and reporting linked above. See our methodology.