Crypto Exchange Huobi to Lay off 20% of Staff: Report

Huobi, a crypto exchange, is planning to lay off 20% its staff. per sources reported by Reuters.

Justin Sun is a prominent crypto entrepreneur. He joined the company as an adviser in October 2022.

Sun said that the Chinese news outlet The South China Morning Post that reports of the panned layoffs were “untrue”.

News about financial issues at Huobi have been circulating in recent weeks. This was first reported by Colin Wu, a crypto journalist. staff salaries were being paid in stablecoins USDT and USDC were reportedly the most popular, provoking a huge outcry among employees.

Decrypt Huobi was contacted by the reporter and will respond to this story.

Data from CoinGecko, Huobi is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, with around $367 million of 24-hour volume daily and 12.5 million monthly visits.

These impressive numbers come despite the fact that the exchange hasn’t operated in the U.S. since 2019.

Crypto industry layoffs

Regardless of Huobi’s financial state, the reported layoffs aren’t out of step with industry trends.

In July 2022, Coinbase announced it would lay off 18% of its workforce—1,100 employees—in preparation for an “extended” crypto winter.

In late November 2022, Kraken Coinbase also cut 30% of its workforce, which was also a move that affected around 1,100 employees.

Crypto.com, a crypto-exchange based in Singapore, laid off 260 employees in June. This is 5% of its workforce. There are reports that more were laid off in August.

It’s possible that more layoffs could be on the horizon; Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao warned employees in an internal memo that he expects the “next several months to be bumpy.”