Crypto Morning Brief: Prediction Market Kalshi Completes Over $1 Billion Financing Round, Block Recalls Some Laid-off Employees

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Yesterday’s Market Updates

Bank of Japan Maintains Steady Policy

The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.75%, in line with market expectations, marking the second consecutive meeting without policy changes.

For the week ending March 14, initial jobless claims in the US were 205,000, versus an expected 215,000 and previous 213,000.

According to Jin10 Data, US initial jobless claims for the week ending March 14 were 205,000, with an expectation of 215,000 and a prior 213,000.

Meta’s AI Agent Goes Out of Control, Sensitive Data Leaked for Two Hours

According to TechCrunch, an incident occurred recently within Meta where an AI Agent malfunctioned. An employee posted on an internal forum seeking technical help, and another engineer called upon the AI Agent for analysis. However, the Agent independently responded without authorization and provided incorrect advice.

After following the AI’s suggestions, a large amount of company and user data was accessed by unauthorized engineers for up to two hours. Meta classified this incident as “Sev 1,” the second-highest level of internal security events.

Notably, this is not Meta’s first AI Agent malfunction. Summer Yue, Meta’s Director of Superintelligence Safety and Alignment, previously stated that her OpenClaw Agent deleted all her inbox contents without confirmation.

Perle Foundation Releases PRL Token Economics: 37.5% to Community, 17.84% to Ecosystem

The Perle Foundation announced the tokenomics for PRL, an AI data marketplace token. Total supply is 10 billion tokens, with 37.5% allocated to the community (7.5% unlocked at TGE, linear unlock over 36 months), 17.84% for the ecosystem (10% at TGE, linear unlock over 48 months), 27.66% to investors (cliff unlock at 12 months, then linear over 36 months), and 17% to the team (cliff at 12 months, then linear over 36 months).

edgeX Announces Launch of EDGE Airdrop Terms Page, Claim Period Ends April 1

Perpetual contract DEX edgeX announced that the EDGE airdrop terms page is now live. According to their website, the airdrop claim period is from 18:00 on March 19 (UTC+8) to 07:59 on April 1.

Block Inc. Quietly Rehiring After Layoffs, CEO Admits Mistakes

According to Cointelegraph, payments company Block (owner of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay) laid off about 4,000 employees at the end of February but has quietly rehired some this month. Several employees reported receiving rehire invitations on LinkedIn, citing reasons such as “clerical errors” and critical infrastructure staffing shortages. CEO Jack Dorsey previously acknowledged that the layoffs might have been a mistake and stated that rapid AI development prompted restructuring of the 6,000-employee team. Some laid-off employees believe the layoffs were more about boosting investor confidence than AI replacement. Currently, Block’s website lists only 27 open positions, mostly management and sales roles.

Gemini Cuts About 30% of Staff This Year, Reports $585 Million Loss and AI Cost-Cutting

According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has cut approximately 30% of its staff since the start of the year, reducing headcount to around 445 employees, and has introduced AI tools to improve efficiency. The company expects a total loss of about $585 million in 2025, with Q4 revenue around $60 million but increased losses. Previously, Gemini announced a 25% staff reduction, exited the UK, EU, and Australia markets, and replaced several executives.

Crypto.com CEO Announces 12% Staff Reduction, Pushes Enterprise AI Transformation

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek disclosed on social media that the company is officially integrating enterprise AI across the organization and has cut about 12% of jobs. Affected employees have been notified, and the company will provide transition support.

Kris Marszalek stated that this strategic move aims to combine top-tier AI tools with high-performance talent to achieve scalable and precise operations previously unattainable. The layoffs mainly target roles deemed incompatible with the new business model.

Animoca Brands Invests in AVAX, Forms Strategic Partnership with Ava Labs

According to The Block, Animoca Brands announced an investment in Avalanche’s native token AVAX and formed a strategic partnership with Avalanche developer Ava Labs. The collaboration will focus on advancing the Avalanche ecosystem, initially targeting Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

The spokesperson for Animoca Brands did not disclose the investment size or specific terms. The partnership will involve cooperation in capital deployment, product integration, and advisory support, with a focus on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, entertainment, and digital identity. Animoca Brands stated it has established regional infrastructure and institutional networks in Asia and the Middle East to support projects built on Avalanche.

Prediction Market Platform Kalshi Completes Over $1 Billion in Funding, Valued at $22 Billion

According to Bloomberg, prediction market platform Kalshi Inc. has completed a new funding round exceeding $1 billion, with a valuation of $22 billion—doubling its valuation from $11 billion in its December 2022 funding round.

OpenAI to Acquire Startup Astral, Expanding in Programming

According to Jin10 Data, OpenAI will acquire startup Astral to strengthen its presence in the programming sector.

Market Trends

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