Massive layoffs in the crypto business are seen
Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, initiated the biggest layoff of the month
It was a tough month for crypto employees, because this month, at least 14 businesses, including Coinbase, Gemini, Digital Currency Group, ConsenSys, and Blockchain.com, announced staff reductions. At least 2,900 cryptocurrency employees were laid off in the first month of 2023 across 14 different cryptocurrency organizations as the industry's businesses tightened their belts.
According to reports, Prime Trust, a company that provides crypto infrastructure, has cut the number of its employees by one-third. At the time of writing, Prime had 312 employees listed on LinkedIn, therefore the cut would mean a loss of 100 employees.
Approximately 100 workers from the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini were laid off recently, according to a prior Jan. 23 report from The Information, while 30 employees from the cryptocurrency platform Matrixport were also laid off, according to a Jan. 27 Bloomberg article.
Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, initiated the biggest layoff of the month on January 10, cutting its workforce by roughly 950 workers. Its rival exchanges, Crypto.com, Luno, and Huobi, trailed with reductions of around 500, 330, and 320 employees, respectively.
Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiaries have also seen massive layoffs, with 485 workers laid off in January alone as the company navigates a financial crisis. The DCG-owned Luno saw the greatest layoffs, with 66 positions lost by DCG, 63 by Genesis, a subsidiary lending platform, and 26 by the closure of HQ Digital, an asset management company.
And the list was completed by the 200 employees laid off by crypto bank Silvergate, the 110 employees laid off by the Blockchain.com exchange, and the 96 employees laid off by MetaMask's parent company, ConsenSys, rounded out the list. In the meantime, SuperRare, a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace, fired 20 employees. Even while institutional demand for Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to rise, the cryptocurrency performed well in the month, aiming for about $25,000.
The massive layoffs in the crypto business were not one-off events, though. Just four companies—Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Salesforce—were responsible for the 48,000 layoffs in January alone. While some would think that things are only getting worse, crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital asserts that now is the best moment to launch a blockchain business since bear markets cause "less noise and distraction from development."
