Snap’s Web3 Team Apparent Victim of 20% Downsize

A former research and development program manager at the company says it chose to “sunset” the division in tweet

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share
  • Snap is restructuring its business to focus on community growth, revenue growth and augmented reality
  • Layoffs come after Snap reported a net loss of $422 million during the second quarter

Snap appears to have axed its Web3 team as part of the social media company’s decision to restructure and cut its headcount by about 20%. 

Jake Sheinman revealed in a tweet Wednesday that it was his last day at Snap. Most recently working as a research and development program manager, he first joined the company as an account specialist in December 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile

“As a result of the company restructure, decisions were made to sunset our [Web3] team,” Sheinman tweeted. “The same team that I co-founded last year with other pirates who believed in digital ownership and the role that [augmented reality] can play to support that.” 

Loading Tweet..

Sheinman and Snap did not immediately return a request for comment.

While Web3 wasn’t explicitly mentioned, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in a Wednesday blog post that investments Snap made to various business lines were under the assumption of a higher rate of revenue growth. The Snapchat community doubled in size since the company’s initial public offering in 2017 and the company’s trailing twelve month revenue has gone up 10 times since then, he added.

But despite seeing a 13% year-over-year revenue increase to about $1.1 billion during the second quarter, Snap reported a net loss of $422 million during the three-month span. 

Somewhat surprisingly, Snap stock is up 16% since Tuesday’s close, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 has slipped more than 1%.

“Unfortunately, given our current lower rate of revenue growth, it has become clear that we must reduce our cost structure to avoid incurring significant ongoing losses,” the CEO wrote on Wednesday. “We are restructuring our business to increase focus on our three strategic priorities: community growth, revenue growth, and augmented reality.”

Sheinman said on LinkedIn that he was on Snap’s emerging mobile apps team, where he supported fintech and crypto companies — such as Coinbase, Cash App, Dave, and Robinhood — to acquire new users. He later helped start Snap’s Web3 team within its product development and research division, he added. 

Snap was exploring plans to allow users to show off NFTs on its app, the Financial Times reported in July. Creators were reportedly set to start testing the feature at the end of August, though it is unclear whether that process began.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /