Robinhood to cut 10% of staff as Tenev pushes leaner structure

Robinhood plans to cut about 290 full-time jobs, or 10% of its workforce, according to a Form 8-K filing reported by Fortune. The move shows the brokerage tightening its structure despite recent profit growth and follows staff reductions across several crypto-linked companies.

The app-based brokerage also will cancel a small number of open positions, Fortune reported. Robinhood said in the filing that it expects about $20 million in severance and benefits costs, along with about $8 million in stock-based compensation expenses tied to the layoffs.

Chief Executive Vladimir Tenev described the reductions as an effort to keep the company from becoming too layered as it grows, according to Fortune. In a memo cited by Fortune, Tenev said Robinhood could not “default to operating as a heavily-layered organization” and needed a smaller, focused team in which employees could have a larger effect.

Fortune reported that Robinhood shares rose more than 2% after the layoff news before declining later Tuesday. The stock was trading around $95 at midday Tuesday and was down about 13% for the year, according to Fortune.

Layoffs spread through crypto-linked firms

Robinhood is among several companies tied to digital assets that have reduced staffing while crypto prices and trading activity have weakened, Fortune reported. The publication said Bitcoin and other digital currencies have been under pressure, while trading has stayed below levels seen during the 2024 crypto boom.

Coinbase said last month that it had cut about 14% of its workforce, according to Fortune. The publication also reported that Crypto.com and Algorand announced layoffs in March, with Algorand cutting about 25% of its staff.

Fortune identified Block, Polygon and Gemini as other firms that announced job cuts in the first quarter of the year. Robinhood, though better known as a stock-trading app, has also built a crypto business and remains exposed to shifts in trading demand.

Profits rise while crypto trading weakens

The layoffs come after Robinhood reported solid first-quarter results, according to its most recent Form 10-Q cited by Fortune. The company earned $350 million in profit in the first quarter of 2026, slightly above the year-earlier period, and revenue rose 15% year over year to $1.07 billion.

Fortune reported that weaker crypto trading revenue has been partly offset by gains in options trading, interest income and newer businesses including prediction markets and credit cards. The publication said prediction markets tied to events such as the World Cup have created another revenue stream and attracted active traders.

Robinhood’s platform assets reached about $307 billion, Fortune reported. The company’s customer base and its paid Gold subscription tier also continued to grow, according to the publication.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.