The crypto business is facing turbulent times with crypto winter hitting and forcing them to shut down operations and put a freeze on hiring. Crypto markets are struggling to thrive after repeated ‘black-swan’ events such as the Luna Terra crash, higher interest rates by Feds coupled with regulatory uncertainty and investors pulling away from the crypto market. The list of companies announcing mass layoffs is increasing rapidly. Today, we take a look at all crypto companies that have announced laying off their employees.
OpenSea
OpenSea–one of the largest NFT marketplaces– is the latest company to announce mass layoffs. Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO took to Twitter to disclose that his company was laying off up to 20 per cent of its staff. He blamed “an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability” for the layoffs.
It should be noted that Opensea doesn’t disclose the number of its employees. Currently, it’s unclear exactly how many people are impacted by the cuts. “The changes we’re making today put us in a position to maintain multiple years of runway under various crypto winter scenarios (5 years at the current volume), and give us high confidence that we will only have to go through this process once.”
TechCrunch reported that the company’s LinkedIn page indicates it has 769 employees, which would mean roughly 150 people lost their jobs. However, the company has announced that the impacted staffers will get “generous severance” and healthcare coverage as well.
Coinbase
Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges announced a hiring freeze as part of efforts to rein in costs amid volatile market conditions. The company said in June that it would slash 18 per cent of its workforce by about 1,100 jobs. The layoffs came a day after Bitcoin plunged as much as 50 per cent after major US cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network froze withdrawals and transfers.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com had announced laying off over 260 members of its workforce to “ensure continued and sustainable growth for the long term.” CEO Kris Marszalek said in a tweet, adding, “We will continue to evaluate how to best optimise our resources to position ourselves as the strongest builders during the down cycle to become the biggest winners during the next bull run.”
Celsius
Celsius laid off some 150 employees, as it witnessed a massive sell-off, which forced the company to suspend withdrawal services. The firm has about 650 staff members listed on LinkedIn, including executives, meaning 23 per cent of the company was affected.
Gemini
Citing “turbulent market conditions that are likely to persist for some time” Gemini, the crypto-exchange owned by billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, was among the first crypto titans to announce it was firing 10 per cent of its employees.
BlockFi
BlockFi, a decentralised finance company that facilitates crypto lending and borrowing said it would be “reducing its headcount by roughly 20 per cent” which means firing over 600 employees. The company said the “decision was driven by market conditions that have had a negative impact on our growth rate and a rigorous review of our strategic priorities.”
2TM
2TM, the company that runs the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America by volume released a statement saying it would lay off 12 per cent of its 750 workers.
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