Crypto companies are continuing to shed workers around the world in the aftermath of last year’s bear market, taking job losses in just the first five weeks of the year into the thousands.
(Bloomberg) — Crypto companies are continuing to shed workers around the world in the aftermath of last year’s bear market, taking job losses in just the first five weeks of the year into the thousands.
US billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’s Gemini Trust Co., Digital Currency Group’s London-based Luno exchange and Singapore crypto lender Matrixport Technologies Ltd. are among those who made recent cuts.
Higher interest rates and recession risks are spurring a range of sectors to retrench. Over 30,000 positions were lost in January in the technology industry at firms like Google parent Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.
Here are some of the crypto job cuts in 2023:
Bittrex
The crypto exchange is laying off 83 workers, a notice on a Washington State website shows. Decrypt reported the cuts will impact most departments.
Blockchain.com
Blockchain.com is letting go of 28% of its workforce, or about 110 employees. It cut about 150 staff last year. After the layoffs, the company’s headcount will be 280 employees, up from 160 at the beginning of 2021.
Chainalysis
Chainalysis, a specialist in tracking crypto transactions, said it made layoffs affecting less than 5% of staff. The firm, whose backers include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, has about 900 employees after the cuts.
Coinbase
On Jan. 10, Coinbase announced a job cut of about 950 employees, or 20% of its workforce. It’s closing most of its operations in Japan and shutting several projects. Last June, Coinbase laid off 18% of its workforce, the equivalent of roughly 1,100 employees, and eliminated another 60 in November.
ConsenSys
Ethereum software company ConsenSys confirmed that it’s eliminating 96 positions, representing 11% of the crypto firm’s total workforce.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com said it laid off about 20% of its global workforce. That’s on top of layoffs in the middle of last year. Crypto.com declined to provide the specific number of jobs eliminated in the latest round.
Gemini
Gemini Trust Co. eliminated another 10% of its workforce. The firm remains pressured by a months-long crypto slump.
Genesis
Brokerage Genesis Global Trading Inc. laid off more than 60 employees, or about 30% of its workforce, on Jan. 5. Last August, the company eliminated 20% of its workforce.
Huobi
Crypto exchange Huobi is planning to lay off 20% of its workforce, according to a statement last month. The company has about 1,100 employees.
Luno
The London-based exchange owned by Digital Currency Group is reducing its workforce by about 35%, citing market turbulence.
Matrixport
The digital-currency lending firm is cutting about one-tenth of its workforce. Many of the reductions will come in marketing.
OSL
The digital-assets platform backed by Fidelity International is cutting costs by about a third, including a “headcount reduction,” according to Hugh Madden, chief executive officer of OSL’s parent company BC Technology Group.
Osprey Funds
Digital asset manager Osprey Funds has laid off 15 employees and is currently operating with fewer than 10 employees, CryptoDaily reported.
Prime Trust
Crypto services company Prime Trust laid off about one-third of its staff late last month, largely in communications and compliance, CoinDesk reported.
Protocol Labs
Filecoin’s developer said in a blog post that it’s laying off 89 people, or about 21% of its workforce.
Silvergate Capital
Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp. said in January it’s reducing headcount by about 200, affecting 40% of its staff.
SuperRare
Nonfungible token marketplace SuperRare reduced staff by about 30% in January, according to a tweet from Chief Executive Officer John Crain.
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