Anchorage Digital is laying off approximately 17% of its workforce due to sector-wide cost pressures and a general crypto market downturn. The reduction, which could affect around 68 employees, comes despite a $100 million investment from Tether in February 2026 that valued the firm at $4.2 billion. As the only federally chartered crypto-focused national trust bank in the U.S., Anchorage Digital is restructuring to focus on institutional infrastructure amid a broader 2026 crypto labor market contraction.
Scale of the current layoffs
- ▪Based on a February 2025 headcount of approximately 400 employees reported by CEO Nathan McCauley, Anchorage Digital's 17% reduction would equate to about 68 layoffs
- ▪Anchorage Digital is laying off approximately 17% of its workforce, affecting roughly one in six employees, as part of a broader restructuring to focus on institutional infrastructure
Reasons for the current layoffs
- ▪Anchorage Digital attributed its 17% workforce reduction to sector-wide cost pressures rather than a single event, business line, or regulatory setback
- ▪Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley informed employees that the 17% job cuts were driven by a general downturn in the cryptocurrency market
Previous layoffs in 2023
- ▪During its March 2023 layoffs, Anchorage Digital cited regulatory uncertainty in the United States, a difficult macroeconomic backdrop, and crypto market volatility as the primary causes
- ▪On March 14, 2023, Anchorage Digital previously laid off approximately 75 employees, representing about 20% of its staff at the time
Cryptocurrency sector employment trends
- ▪According to CryptoJobsList, the cryptocurrency sector experienced at least 7,411 job cuts across 60 companies in 2026, with Block's 4,000 cuts in February 2026 being the largest
- ▪Out of 2,932 crypto job openings monitored by Tiger Research in the first half of 2026, engineering accounted for 34.1%, stablecoins and payments for 13.4%, and compliance and legal for 10.4%
- ▪Tiger Research reported that new job listings on leading cryptocurrency job portals declined by approximately 80% year-over-year in January 2026
Anchorage Digital regulatory status
- ▪Anchorage Digital is the only federally chartered, crypto-focused national trust bank in the United States, having received its charter in January 2021
- ▪Anchorage Digital holds regulatory licenses in multiple jurisdictions, including New York and Singapore, in addition to its federal charter
Institutional custody and trading
- ▪Anchorage Digital has advanced into institutional market infrastructure through the development of products that link regulatory custody with crypto trading
- ▪In June 2026, Binance included Anchorage Digital in its triparty banking network, allowing institutional clients to keep collateral in regulated custody while trading
Institutional interest in digital assets
- ▪An analysis by BCG established that infrastructure like custody, settlement, and tokenized assets is becoming more important due to the increasing integration of digital assets with traditional finance
- ▪A 2026 survey published by EY revealed that 73% of surveyed companies intended to expand their investments in digital assets over the following year
Debatable claims
- ▪The ongoing crypto layoff wave is a sign of industry maturation
- ▪A federal bank charter is insufficient to protect crypto institutions from market volatility
- ▪Well-funded crypto startups should prioritize job preservation over preemptive cost-cutting
- ▪Crypto companies can successfully scale institutional products with a shrinking workforce
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