iWorld
CoinSwitch Launches ‘Block by Block’
MUMBAI: CoinSwitch has announced the launch of ‘Block by Block’, a national-level paper presentation competition focused on Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs). The initiative, launched in partnership with India’s leading law firm Trilegal, and The Centre for Technology, Entertainment and Sports Law at NUJS Kolkata, aims to engage law and public policy students in shaping India’s future regulatory landscape for VDAs.
The competition challenges students to develop innovative, practical policy proposals on the regulation of VDAs in India. Participants are invited to submit papers on the theme: “A Policy Approach for Regulation of Virtual Digital Assets/Crypto assets to Foster the Growth of a New Asset Class in India.”
“At CoinSwitch, we believe that responsible innovation requires collaboration between industry, academia, and policymakers. ‘Block by Block’ is our effort to create a platform where the next generation of legal and policy minds can contribute meaningfully to India’s growing ecosystem. As Web3 continues to evolve, it’s crucial that we build the ecosystem thoughtfully and we believe students have a big role to play in that journey,” said CoinSwitch co-founder Ashish Singhal.
The competition provides a rare opportunity for students to work on real-world policy challenges in collaboration with leading industry and legal experts. Unlike most academic competitions, ‘Block by Block’ is backed by active industry participation offering both credibility and visibility to participants.
“As a centre committed to the study of law and emerging technologies, we’re proud to collaborate on ‘Block by Block’ a platform that gives students the chance to work on real-world challenges related to digital asset regulation. Initiatives like this not only promote academic rigour but also prepare our students to become active contributors to the future of tech policy in India,” added Dr. Shameek Sen, Professor, The Centre for Technology, Entertainment and Sports Law at NUJS Kolkata.
“We believe in contributing to the development of progressive legal thought-leadership on emerging technologies including digital assets. We are excited to partner with CoinSwitch for this initiative that encourages future lawyers and policymakers to engage and help shape the legal discourse around this evolving asset class,” said Trilegal partner Jaideep Reddy.
The competition officially launched on July 25, 2025, with entries open for 6 weeks until September 10, 2025. Submissions, limited to a maximum of 5,000 words (excluding footnotes), will be evaluated on key parameters including originality and novelty, research and evidence, analytical rigor, clarity of structure, and adherence to formatting guidelines. The competition also allows for co-authorship, with up to two individuals permitted per entry.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
