Paxos

How it happened

Paxos is a US regulated crypto and blockchain infrastructure firm providing stablecoin issuance and settlement services, valued around $2.4B in 2021. Regulatory pressure — including an SEC notice and a regulator-ordered halt to its BUSD stablecoin in 2023 — weighed on the business. PitchBook estimates put its value down roughly 50%, below the $1B unicorn threshold, though as a private firm this reflects a third-party markdown. Glassdoor reviews were mostly positive about talent, pay and well-liked leadership, but a recurring thread described near-constant strategy pivots — several employees said the business plan seemed to change yearly — plus a 2024 layoff round and difficulty getting its stablecoins to gain traction against larger rivals.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.