Fireblocks, the digital asset infrastructure company co-founded by chief executive Michael Shaulov, is laying off about 60 to 70 people, roughly 7% of a workforce of about 900, CTech reported on 23 October 2026, a day after the company denied an Axios report that Visa was in late-stage talks to buy it for about $2.5 billion. Finjobsly, which tracks the Fireblocks careers page, recorded 23 new Fireblocks job ads in August 2026 and 15 in September, but only one between 1 and 26 October, a slowdown that came before the Fireblocks layoffs were reported. The company calls the cuts a structural change to support its strategic growth.

What happened before the Fireblocks layoffs

On 22 October 2026, Axios reported, citing multiple sources, that Visa was in late-stage talks to acquire Fireblocks for around $2.5 billion. Fireblocks rejected it within hours. “We are aware of the rumors about a possible acquisition of Fireblocks by Visa. This is news to us, and not true at present time,” the company told The Block. Visa said it does not comment on rumours or speculation.

The next day, CTech reported the Fireblocks layoffs, including dozens of roles in Israel, where the company was founded. In a statement, Fireblocks said it was “parting ways with approximately 7% of our global workforce” and that affected staff would receive an enhanced severance package. The Fireblocks layoffs are the company’s third round of cuts, after about 30 roles in February 2023 and about 20 in early 2024.

The price in the Axios report is the striking number. Fireblocks raised $550 million at an $8 billion valuation in January 2022, so $2.5 billion would be less than a third of that mark.

Fireblocks layoffs: what the job ads showed first

Job ads are a cheap, public signal of a company’s plans, and the Fireblocks ads went quiet before the headlines. From March to June 2026, Finjobsly recorded between 9 and 16 new Fireblocks ads a month. August brought 23 and September 15. The only new ad first seen in October was a sales engineer role in Tokyo, posted on 12 October. Finjobsly’s counts leave out two days, 19 February and 13 July, when its crawler re-indexed the Fireblocks careers page in bulk and logged dozens of existing ads as new.

What remains open is overwhelmingly commercial. Of the 27 Fireblocks ads still live on 26 October, 19 are sales roles: 13 sales directors and six sales engineers, many aimed at banks and payments companies in New York, London, Berlin, Dubai, Seoul and Sydney. Add three solutions architects and three support engineers, and only one live ad, a full stack blockchain engineer in London, is for core product engineering.

Israel stands out. Finjobsly has tracked 25 Israel-based Fireblocks ads, and none is live. The last one it saw was on 4 October 2026, about three weeks before reports of the Fireblocks layoffs named Israel among the affected locations.

How to read the Fireblocks layoffs data

Two cautions apply. A job ad disappearing from a careers page does not prove a role was cut; it may have been filled or paused. And the Fireblocks layoffs, at 7% of staff, are a modest reduction for a company that has raised about $1.04 billion, according to CTech. The data supports a narrower claim: Fireblocks stopped adding roles in October, kept recruiting revenue staff and stopped advertising in Israel before the cuts became public.

Fintechbits analysis

Why a Visa deal would make sense, and why the timing matters

For Visa, the logic is plain. Its rival Mastercard completed its BVNK acquisition in August 2026, paying up to $1.8 billion for stablecoin infrastructure, and Visa has been building its own stablecoin rails, including stablecoin prefunding for Visa Direct. Fireblocks already runs custody and a stablecoin payments network for banks and exchanges, which is a faster route than building from scratch.

For Fireblocks, the hiring pattern matters more than the denial. A company preparing for a sale, or for a down-round raise at less than a third of its 2022 valuation, tends to do exactly what the job ads show: freeze headcount, protect sales and trim cost centres. “Not true at present time” is not a no.

Our view: whether or not Visa buys Fireblocks, the Fireblocks layoffs confirm that the market has re-priced the company sharply, and its hiring already reflected that. Candidates in Israel and in non-sales functions should treat the October slowdown as the signal it is.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are affected by the Fireblocks layoffs?

Fireblocks is cutting about 60 to 70 roles, roughly 7% of a workforce of about 900, including dozens in Israel, according to CTech. The company says affected staff will receive an enhanced severance package.

Is Visa buying Fireblocks?

Axios reported on 22 October 2026 that Visa was in late-stage talks to buy Fireblocks for about $2.5 billion. Fireblocks called the report “not true at present time” and Visa declined to comment, so no deal has been announced.

Was Fireblocks still hiring before the cuts?

Barely. Finjobsly recorded 23 new Fireblocks job ads in August 2026 and 15 in September but only one between 1 and 26 October. Of 27 ads still live on 26 October, 19 were sales roles and none was based in Israel.

What to Watch Next for Fireblocks

Watch whether Visa or Fireblocks comments again on the reported talks, and whether Fireblocks resumes posting roles. A return of engineering and Israel-based ads on its careers page would suggest the Fireblocks layoffs were a one-off reset. Continued silence outside sales would point to a company still preparing for a transaction.