Unchained Capital, a blockchain financial services company, announced that it would cut about 15% of its staff as part of measures to manage the business amid the current bear market in cryptocurrencies.
In their latest blog post, the company’s CEO wrote about how these past few weeks and months had been rough for Unchained and its employees. They’ve watched many other firms crumble after failing to make it through this tough economic environment.
Although the company has never had exposure to FTX, Alameda, or any other firms that have lost customer cash, the CEO said that recent market events have dramatically limited funding for loans backed by bitcoin.
Against the backdrop of a record-breaking year for Bitcoin, Unchained has seen rapid growth in both clientele and bitcoin deposits. Despite recent turmoil in Bitcoin markets, they have managed to maintain their five-year streak without taking any losses on loans. They are sitting comfortably with leverage ratios exceeding 214%.
However, affected employees are receiving an offer from Unchained’s CEO that includes a severance package, including payment of up to two months’ worth of base salary plus additional monthly payments for health benefits. Additionally, it also provides acceleration of stock options and extended option window periods.
Unchained Is Not Alone In This Economical Trauma
Since the all-time high of $3 trillion in November 2021, the total market capitalization of the digital asset industry has plunged to just below $831.81 billion (over 75% less), making this recent recession one of the worst in history.
This huge economic downturn can be attributed to a variety of influences, some of which include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and other regions, high inflation rates, and worse long-term economic outlooks. As a result, many cryptocurrency jobs are being eliminated.
For example, in the last week of May, Buenbit – one of the top crypto investment platforms – laid off nearly 45% of its staff, reducing its workforce from about 180 to just 100. In June, crypto exchange Gemini reported that the bear market had caused them to fire roughly 10% of their staff.
Additionally, due to developments in the world’s financial landscape, 2TM, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, also disclosed that it would be letting go 12% of its 750-person staff.
In April, the crypto sphere-friendly trading platform Robinhood laid off 9% of its staff. Similarly, Rain Financial – one of the most well-known crypto ecosystems in the Middle Eastern region – fired twelve workers, citing the global economic crisis as the reason for this move.
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