The crypto industry is currently in turbulent times. They have had to close their operations and put a halt to hiring due crypto winter. After repeated ‘black swan’ events such as the FTX collapse, the Luna Terra crash, higher interest rates by Feds combined with regulatory uncertainty, and investors withdrawing from the crypto market, crypto markets are struggling to thrive. There are more companies announcing mass layoffs than ever before. Today, In this article here’s the list of the top 5 cryptocurrency companies that have announced layoffs.
Coinbase
Coinbase, one the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced an extensive layoff in response to volatile market conditions. The top crypto exchange announced in June that it would reduce its workforce by 18%, which is approximately 1100 jobs. The layoffs occur just one day after Bitcoin fell by as much as 50%.
Over 60 people in the institutional onboarding department at Coinbase were laid off again after five months. In June company said the layoff is part of the company’s plan to manage operating expenses in response to current market condition and ongoing business prioritisation efforts. Coinbase has also stopped hiring and withdrew job offers it had extended to candidates during June. Some of these dissatisfied customers took to the internet to voice their dismay.
Crypto.com
Kris Marszalek, CEO and founder of Crypto.com, announced the layoff of 260 employees in June, accounting for 5% of the exchange’s workforce. According to media reports, the exchange had understated the number of layoffs and has quietly laid off more than 2,000 employees due to declining trading volumes.
Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has quicky reponded on to the report and stated that a report claiming that it laid off over 2,000 employees was “incorrect.” According to Tech in Asia, the cryptocurrency exchange has dismissed recent mass layoff reports as “inaccurate.” “Any media reports of ongoing job cuts, as well as additional estimates and rumours about the total number of cuts, are inaccurate,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying. Notably, the company still haven’t unveils the right data of layoff employees. As per the company’s linkedin page the total employee of Crypto.com is $489k.
Celsius
According to media reports, Celsius was forced to lay off 150 employees back in July 3. The company is fighting a financial crisis and had to stop customer withdrawals last week, according to Calcalist. As per the company’s linkedin profile currenly, lending platform Celsius has 650 employees, including executives, listed on LinkedIn. The company is in danger of going bankrupt. It halted withdrawals in June, citing “extreme market conditions,” and has since hired restructuring experts. Following its mid-June turmoil, the company said it is looking into ways to “preserve and protect assets.”
ByBit
Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, announced on December 4, that the company’s workforce will be reduced by at least 30% due to the deterioration of the market. Notably just after two days when Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that they are ‘bullish’ on Bybit’s four-year milestone, the company broke the news of layoff. Bybit’s layoff will be widespread. Zhou said in a recent tweet Bybit believes it is crucial to have the correct structure and resources in order to manage the market slowdown.
He also stated that the company will be able continue to bring the crypto ark to people around the globe with more enthusiasm and zeal because of the layoff. According to the linkedin profile, ByBit currently has 832 employees.
BlockFi
BlockFi, a decentralised finance company that facilitates crypto lending and borrowing, announced that it would “reduce its headcount by nearly 20%,” suggesting the layoff of over 600 employees. According to the company, the decision was “driven by market circumstances that have had a negative impact on our growth rate and a stringent review of our key plans.” As per the current data on linkedin profile of ByBit the total employee of BlockFi is 471.