OP Labs cuts 20 employees as Ethereum L2 developer shifts strategic focus

OP Labs, the development company behind Ethereum's Layer 2 network Optimism, has laid off 20 employees as part of an organizational overhaul aimed at narrowing strategic priorities and streamlining decision-making processes.

“This is not about finance,” Jing Wang, CEO of OP Labs, said in a memo. “OP Labs has been a runway at best for years. It's about doing a few things well, making decisions quickly, and reducing the cost of collaboration.”

The company said it plans to support departing employees with severance, health care and help them find new roles.

The affected employees will receive extended compensation packages and continued benefits as part of their severance agreements.

Jing is committed to leveraging personal and professional networks to connect displaced workers with hiring opportunities around the blockchain ecosystem.

Industry-wide pressures

OP Labs joins the list of crypto companies adjusting staffing levels as the industry adjusts to weak markets and shifts strategies.

Gemini has exited the UK, EU and Australian markets by cutting 25% of its workforce, closing its NFT marketplace and narrowing its focus to the US, AI tools and forecasting markets.

OKX has cut staff in its facilities division as part of a global restructuring, while Block said it will eliminate about 4,000 jobs as CEO Jack Dorsey focuses on AI developments and shifting business priorities.

The last time the crypto sector experienced a mass layoff was in 2018. In the 2022 market crash, companies cut headcount by 10% to 30% following failures tied to Terraform Labs and FTX, which wiped an estimated $2 trillion from the market.

According to Bressler, Amery and Ross, about 24,000 jobs were lost that year as exchanges and mining companies went into crisis management mode.

The latest trends from 2025 to 2026 are mostly related to operational efficiency, integration, and the move to AI-based and blockchain-focused initiatives.

While the 2022 reductions were dominated by exchanges such as Coinbase and Crypto.com, new strikes spread across sectors such as DeFi, real-world asset platforms and infrastructure providers.