Kraken Cuts 150 Jobs to Boost AI, U.S. IPO May Delay to 2027

Kraken has cut roughly 150 jobs as the crypto exchange leans harder into artificial intelligence, a move Bloomberg says could push back the company’s long-awaited U.S. IPO into 2027. Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported the layoffs were driven by operational efficiencies from expanding AI tools inside Kraken’s corporate entity, Payward. The source added that, for now, the company does not expect another round of cuts even as AI adoption accelerates across multiple teams. The downsizing comes amid a wider industry pullback. Falling crypto prices and rising automation investments have forced firms to tighten spending, and publicly traded crypto companies posted weaker first-quarter results after markets lost momentum late last year. Kraken had confidentially filed IPO paperwork with U.S. regulators in November but paused the process in March as market conditions weakened; co-CEO Arjun Sethi later confirmed at an industry conference that Kraken had made a confidential filing, but gave no timetable for a listing. Bloomberg’s reporting suggests the latest restructuring could delay a U.S. listing until 2027, extending a timeline that was already uncertain. Kraken’s move is part of a broader pattern of job cuts tied to AI-driven efficiency across the sector. More than 5,000 crypto-related positions have reportedly been eliminated so far in 2026, with companies citing automation and organizational reshuffles as primary reasons. Notable examples: - Coinbase announced plans to cut about 14% of its workforce. CEO Brian Armstrong framed the reductions as a push to become “lean, fast, and AI-native,” saying AI is enabling engineers to do in days what used to take weeks and allowing non-technical staff to ship production code through automated workflows. Coinbase’s restructuring will remove management layers, cap the organization at five levels beneath the CEO and COO, and experiment with smaller, AI-focused teams. - Gemini said in February it would lay off roughly 200 employees and wind down operations in the U.K., EU, and Australia, citing mounting losses, IPO-related expenses, and weaker markets after Bitcoin fell below $70,000. - Crypto analytics platform Dune cut about 25% of its staff as part of a refocus on core products. As exchanges and platforms scramble to integrate AI while managing costs, the sector faces a balancing act: drive long-term efficiency gains with automation without undermining operational capacity or investor confidence—factors that will play into future fundraising and IPO plans.