2026's fintech layoffs get discussed like a standalone crisis, but this is the third distinct wave since 2022, and each one has had a different underlying cause. Knowing which kind of cycle you're in changes what actually comes next, for hiring, for pay, and for which roles get cut first.
2022-2023: the crypto winter
The first wave was collapse-driven. Crypto firms cut roughly 9,500 jobs through 2022 alone, and January 2023 alone accounted for 41 percent of that entire year's total as the damage kept compounding. Coinbase cut 20 percent of its workforce (about 950 people) in January 2023, on top of 2,110 already cut since June 2022. Kraken cut 30 percent (roughly 1,100 people). Crypto.com cut about 20 percent (700 to 900 people). Celsius cut 150, BlockFi cut 250, and FTX collapsed outright. The trigger was straightforward: crashing crypto prices, rising interest rates, and the fallout from FTX's collapse pulling confidence and deposits out of the whole sector at once.
2023: the SVB shock
Silicon Valley Bank's collapse in March 2023 wasn't a fintech layoff event in itself, but it rattled the startup banking relationships a lot of fintechs depended on and added a second layer of caution to hiring across the sector for the rest of that year. The damage was more about frozen hiring and deferred funding rounds than direct headcount cuts.
2026: a different kind of cut
The current wave looks nothing like 2022's. PayPal cut 4,760 roles (20 percent of its workforce) despite beating Q1 revenue estimates. Block cut more than 4,000 roles (close to 40 percent) the same quarter it raised its full-year guidance. Coinbase cut 700 (14 percent) citing AI acceleration, not distress. Robinhood, Intuit, and Apex Fintech all followed with cuts of their own. These aren't companies in crisis, they're profitable, growing businesses restructuring around smaller AI-augmented teams. That's a fundamentally different signal than a company cutting staff because its business model just broke.
What repeats every cycle
One pattern holds across all three waves: the cuts are never the end of hiring, they're a redistribution of it. Crypto-winter survivors were rehired over 2023 and 2024 into different roles than the ones cut. The same thing is already visible in 2026's data: several of the companies making the deepest AI-driven cuts, including Robinhood, Block, and Coinbase, are all still listing open roles, including some with AI and machine-learning titles.
Bottom line
A layoff headline alone doesn't tell you whether a company is shrinking or reshaping. Check Finjobsly's company profiles for actual hiring velocity before you rule an employer out, and set up job alerts for the companies you're tracking so you see the rehire wave as it starts, not months later. For the specific companies hiring for AI roles right now, including several also cutting elsewhere, see which fintechs are actually hiring for AI roles, and for the full picture on 2026's cuts, see Fintech Layoffs 2026: Record Job Cuts.
What does Finjobsly data show about hiring after the 2026 cuts?
The layoff counts and dates in the history above come from outside reporting and are not Finjobsly data. Finjobsly data (21 October 2026) shows the current position at tracked employers. Coinbase lists 226 active roles, Block 209 and Robinhood 156, which is 591 of the 4,207 roles in the panel, or 14.0%. PayPal, Intuit and Apex Fintech are not tracked.
AI hiring is real but modest. Roles with AI, machine learning or LLM in the title number 186 across the panel (4.4%), and 28 of them sit at those three employers (13 at Coinbase, 10 at Block and 5 at Robinhood). That means the three are not unusually concentrated in AI hiring compared with the panel, and most of their open roles are in other functions. Across the panel, engineering is 25.5% of roles and sales 21.8%.
We cannot say whether this is a rehire wave. Finjobsly tracking began in July 2026, so we do not compare against earlier waves or earlier months. That limits what the data can show about the pattern the article describes, so read this section as a snapshot, not a trend.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2026 fintech layoff wave different from 2022?
The article argues it is, because the companies cutting are profitable. That analysis relies on outside reporting.
Are laid-off companies still hiring?
Coinbase, Block and Robinhood list 591 active roles between them in Finjobsly data. See the companies page and the AI finance jobs page.
Which functions hire most today?
Engineering (1,066 roles) and sales (914), according to Finjobsly data grouped on 20 October 2026.
Methodology and data notes
Role counts come from Finjobsly data on tracked employers only. Historical layoff figures are outside information and not Finjobsly data. Last updated 21 October 2026.