Crypto businesses are once more forced to make cuts as the bear market enters its second year and the industry experiences massive meltdowns that harm its future.
In the latest instance, co founder and CEO of Crypto.com took to twitter to announce staff layoffs by 20% due to “ongoing economic headwinds and unforeseeable industry events.”
“Today we made the difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by approximately 20%,” Marszalek said in his official Twitter account on Jan. 13.
“All impacted personnel have already been notified. These reductions were in no way related to performance, and we extend our deepest gratitude for all their contributions to Crypto.com.”
Marszalek said several factors influenced their decision despite the exchange growing to more than 70 million users worldwide.
The trading platform earlier announced minor job reductions totaling 260 employees, or 5% of its workforce in June.
The layoffs from last year, according to Marszalek, helped the company weather the macroeconomic downturn, but they did not take into account the collapse of the digital asset exchange FTX in November which he said: “significantly damaged trust in the industry.”
“It’s for this reason, as we continue to focus on prudent financial management, we made the difficult but necessary decision to make additional reductions in order to position the company for long-term success.”
The leading Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange said that it would officially remove USDT stablecoin for Canadian users on January 31 at 1 p.m. ET, TronWeekly reported.
Several businesses, including Coinbase Global Inc., Blockchain.com, Genesis, and Crypto.com, are starting a new round of layoffs.
In the first two weeks of 2023, the four firms Huobi, cryptocurrency bank Silvergate Capital Corp., and Ethereum development company ConsenSys collectively contributed for the loss of thousands of jobs, with more than 1,600 already having been lost before Crypto.com.
More Trouble For Crypto Firms
The latest round of layoffs occurred as a potential US recession loomed, which will likely result in job losses across industries.
Tech and financial behemoths like Amazon.com Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and BlackRock Inc. are also laying off large numbers of employees due to the increased risk of interest rates.
More upheavals could occur as crypto brokerage Genesis and digital asset exchange Gemini have been slapped with lawsuit by the US regulator SEC on 12 Jan. The duo have been accused of offering unregistered securities for sale.