Prominent Bitcoin mining pool Foundry Digital reportedly slashed 27% of its workforce this week. The layoffs, which affected 74 employees, reflect a strategic shift to prioritize core operations, including its Bitcoin mining pool and site operations. This decision follows an internal restructuring within the Digital Currency Group (DCG), Foundry’s parent company.
CEO Mike Coyler stated that the firm is focusing on its core business lines to strengthen its market position. As part of this shift, the platform has deprioritized its custom hardware initiatives while maintaining its ASIC repair services.
Foundry Cuts Jobs
According to the latest report by Blockspace, the layoffs were accompanied by the transfer of 20 Foundry employees to Yuma, a decentralized AI startup spun out of Foundry’s internal Bittensor project. Yuma now operates as an independent DCG entity under CEO Barry Silbert. Foundry’s management described the changes as part of a strategy to streamline operations and refocus on its core businesses, including its flagship Bitcoin mining pool and site operations.
Foundry currently accounts for 30% of the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate. Its self-mining business alone is on track to generate $80 million in revenue for 2024, as per DCG’s Q3 2024 shareholder letter. Meanwhile, other business lines, such as ASIC repairs and decentralized AI infrastructure, remain operational.
In a statement, the company claimed,
“We recently made the strategic decision to focus Foundry on our core business while supporting the development of DCG’s newest subsidiaries. As part of this realignment, we made the difficult decision to reduce Foundry’s workforce, resulting in layoffs across multiple teams.”.
Navigating Troubled Waters
The layoffs come amid broader challenges for DCG, which has worked to stabilize its operations following the bankruptcy of its lending subsidiary Genesis after being caught up in the FTX fallout.
Amidst financial challenges, Foundry moved from a free model to a paid service, marking a significant change in its business strategy in April last year.
