Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.

It's a daily podcast on macro, Bitcoin, and the big picture power shifts remaking our world.

What's going on, guys? It is Wednesday, January 31st, and today we are talking about, well, all sorts of things.

Layoffs at the block, ETF updates, SEC news, you know, the usual. Before we get into that,

however, if you are enjoying the breakdown, please go subscribe to it, give it a rating, give it a review,

or if you want to dive deeper into the conversation. Come join us on the breakers discord. You can find a link at the show notes or go to bit.ly slash breakdown pod.

We start off today with a bit of a bummer. Blockchain and payments firm Block Inc. have

confirmed that they've begun laying off employees as part of a previously disclosed

downsizing. The company is planning on reducing headcount by 10% by the end of the year,

affecting approximately 1,000 employees. Now, the company, which includes cash app,

title in Bitcoin Infrastructure Division, TBD, had announced plans to reduce its workforce to

12,000 people during a third quarter earnings call. In a leaked memo sent to staff in November,

CEO Jack Dorsey explained the plans by saying,

The growth of our company has far outpaced the growth of our business and revenue.

The size of this week's layoffs was not disclosed, but the company confirmed that its

downsizing target hasn't changed. Block, of course, pivoted to an increased focus on Bitcoin

infrastructure and hardware in 2021. The company name was changed from Square, and new division's

spiral and TBD were launched throughout the year. No details were available on how the

layoffs would impact blockchain divisions. Now, alongside the layoffs at Block, PayPal is also

planning on cutting its workforce, this time by 9% affecting around 2,500 employees.

CEO Alex Chris told staff on Tuesday that, quote,

we are doing this to right-size our business, allowing us to move with the speed needed to

...