Nov 4, 2026
Not linked to AICircle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, cut about 5% of its workforce in the third quarter of 2026 and disclosed it with its third-quarter results on 4 November; it did not say how many people or which teams (it had about 1,100 employees at the end of 2025, and Unchained estimated the cut at about 55).
The reason Circle gave
"Reflects the charges related to a workforce reduction of approximately 5% designed to better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities."Circle, in a footnote to its third-quarter 2026 results release, filed with the SEC on November 4, 2026 (its quarterly report repeats it)
Neither the results release nor Circle's quarterly report gives AI as a reason for the cut; the release speaks of AI only as a market for its products (AI agents paying with USDC). Decrypt reported that chief executive Jeremy Allaire did not mention the cut in his comments on the results, and set it among this year's crypto-industry cuts, some of which cited AI; BeInCrypto noted that the filing does not mention AI while recalling Allaire's remark in May that 85% of Circle staff used AI tools weekly. No report read said AI was a reason these roles were cut.
Source: Circle (SEC filing): Third quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1, November 4, 2026. Checked Nov 4, 2026.