Foundry Lays Off 27% of Staff Amid Strategic Restructuring

Foundry, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool, has laid off 27% of its workforce as part of a significant restructuring process. According to a source familiar with the matter, the layoffs include 16% of Foundry’s U.S.-based employees, as well as a portion of its team in India.

The workforce reduction is part of Foundry’s broader strategy to refocus its operations and streamline its business. The company, which operates Foundry USA, the largest Bitcoin mining pool globally, is also planning to spin off its self-mining business into a separate entity. This self-mining business, which is still under the control of Foundry’s parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), has been a key part of the restructuring.

A Shift in Focus

Foundry’s parent company, DCG, detailed the planned changes in a November shareholder letter. In the letter, DCG explained that Foundry would concentrate on its core operations—running the #1 Bitcoin mining pool and expanding its site operations business—while spinning out the self-mining business into a separate subsidiary.

As part of this realignment, Foundry has made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce. The company acknowledged the impact of these layoffs on its teams, stating, “As part of this realignment, we made the difficult decision to reduce Foundry’s workforce, resulting in layoffs across multiple teams.”

Foundry’s Market Position

Foundry USA currently controls about one-third of the Bitcoin mining pool market, making it the largest pool in the world, according to data from Hashrate Index. The company’s self-mining business, which has seen considerable success, is on track to earn nearly $80 million in sales in 2024, according to DCG’s November investor report.

DCG emphasized that it believes the self-mining business will be stronger as a standalone entity. “We believe this enterprise will be stronger as a standalone business, and so we are spinning it out as a wholly-owned DCG subsidiary,” the company said. DCG also revealed plans to bring in external hires to help raise capital for the new venture.

Industry-Wide Adjustments

Foundry’s restructuring comes amid broader challenges facing the Bitcoin mining industry. Miners have been grappling with the effects of the Bitcoin halving event in April, which reduced the rewards for mining blocks. As a result, miners are under pressure to reduce costs and find more efficient ways to operate.

The halving, which occurs every four years, cuts the number of BTC mined per block in half, increasing the difficulty and cost of mining. According to CoinShares' Q3 mining report, Bitcoin miners are responding by embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovations to offset these challenges. Despite these hurdles, miners have continued to expand infrastructure, anticipating future price increases.

Conclusion

The restructuring at Foundry reflects the ongoing adjustments within the Bitcoin mining industry as companies adapt to shifting market conditions. While the workforce reduction is a difficult step, it is part of a broader strategic move to ensure long-term growth and efficiency. As Foundry focuses on its core Bitcoin mining pool operations, the spin-off of its self-mining business presents an opportunity for further expansion and capital raising in the evolving crypto landscape.