Bankless is facing criticism after reports said the crypto media brand cut most of its staff without making a public announcement. At nearly the same time, co-founder Ryan Sean Adams wrote on X that “the first era of Bankless has ended,” framing the moment as the close of his six-year run with David Hoffman.
The allegation was pushed into public view by crypto community member @0x_Lucas, who said Bankless had “allegedly laid off most of its team members.” His main complaint was not limited to the cuts themselves. He argued that the company had offered no public statement, no visible thanks to departing staff, and no effort to help affected employees find new roles through the platform Bankless spent years building.
Adams signals a turning point while Bankless stays silent
In a reflective thread on X, Adams described the change as the end of Bankless’ first era rather than a straightforward downsizing announcement. He looked back on the project’s growth from its early days covering crypto, DeFi, and Ethereum, and suggested that a new chapter was forming, though he did not define what that chapter would look like.
As of publication, Bankless had not issued an official statement confirming or denying the reported layoffs. No blog post or newsletter addressing the restructuring had appeared either. The podcast feed was still active, and the main website continued to publish routine content, including a recent piece titled “17 Trends for Crypto’s 2026.” That gap between normal outward publishing and rumors of internal cuts fueled much of the anger online.
Criticism on X centers on silence, not only job cuts
The backlash described in the report was focused less on whether layoffs happened and more on how they were handled. Media and crypto firms have been reducing headcount for two years, so the existence of cuts was not treated as unusual on its own. What drew attention was the claim that Bankless kept posting unrelated material while saying nothing publicly about employees who were reportedly leaving.
@0x_Lucas accused the founders of failing to give even basic public recognition to the departing team. That argument spread on X, where users contrasted Bankless’ previous coverage of layoffs at companies such as Binance and Consensys with its apparent reluctance to address scrutiny directed at itself. For a brand closely associated with community language and DeFi culture, the optics were especially damaging.
A narrower media operation may follow if the reports are accurate
The report says that if the layoffs are as broad as claimed, Bankless may have cut much of the staff that helped turn a podcast into a wider media business. That includes writers, producers, editors, and operations staff involved in newsletters, video, and research products built around the flagship show. In practical terms, that could leave the company more concentrated on the core podcast and a smaller set of projects, with less room for daily news output or deeper editorial work.
The episode also points to the pressure still facing crypto media businesses. Advertising can swing sharply, sponsor budgets often track token prices and trading activity, and venture funding is no longer easy to secure. As of May 22, Bankless still had not released a formal statement on the reported layoffs, but Adams’ public declaration that the first era was over made clear that the company is entering a different phase.