OP Labs, the development company behind the Ethereum layer 2 network Optimism, has laid off 20 employees as part of an organizational restructuring aimed at refining its strategic priorities and streamlining decision-making processes.
“This is not about finances,” Jing Wang, CEO of OP Labs, said in a note. “OP Labs is well capitalized with years of experience. It’s about doing fewer things well, making decisions faster and reducing coordination costs.”
The company said it plans to support departing employees by providing severance packages, continued health care and helping them find new roles.
Affected staff members will receive extended compensation and ongoing benefits as part of their separation agreements.
Jing also committed to leveraging personal and professional networks to connect displaced workers to employment opportunities in the blockchain ecosystem.
Industry-wide pressures
OP Labs joins a growing list of crypto companies that have adjusted their workforce levels as the industry adapts to weaker markets and changing strategies.
Gemini cut around 25% of its workforce and exited the UK, EU and Australian markets while shuttering its NFT marketplace and focusing on the US, AI tools and prediction markets.
OKX also cut staff at its institutional division as part of a global restructuring, while Block said it would cut around 4,000 jobs, with CEO Jack Dorsey highlighting advances in AI and changing business priorities.
The crypto industry last saw mass layoffs during the 2022 market collapse, when companies cut their workforces by 10% to 30% following failures linked to Terraform Labs and FTX that wiped about $2 trillion from the market.
According to Bressler, Amery & Ross, about 24,000 jobs disappeared that year as stock exchanges and mining companies went into crisis management mode.
Recent layoffs from 2025 to 2026 are primarily related to operational streamlining, mergers, and the move toward AI and blockchain-based initiatives.
While the 2022 reductions were dominated by exchanges such as Coinbase and Crypto.com, the new layoffs are spread across sectors such as DeFi, real-world asset platforms and infrastructure providers.
