Crypto Companies Have Cut More Than 1,600 Jobs This Year

Coinbase Global Inc., Blockchain.com and Genesis are among the companies embarking on a new round of layoffs. The three firms, along with the Huobi exchange, crypto bank Silvergate Capital Corp., Ethereum software firm ConsenSys, will collectively cut more than 1,600 jobs in the first two weeks of 2023.

In a letter to employees, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the industry could suffer further contagion and that, “in retrospect”, should have cut more jobs last year.

The cryptocurrency sector has already shrunk from its boom days in 2021, when upstarts were stealing talent en masse from Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms. Within a year, some of the biggest players—FTX, BlockFi, the Celsius Network—failed and others scaled back their ambitions to survive.

READ ALSO: Bank account maintenance charges: which are the most expensive?

The new round of layoffs comes as a potential US recession looms, which will lead to job cuts across all sectors. Tech and financial titans such as Amazon.com Inc, Goldman Sachs Group and BlackRock are also making widespread layoffs, citing economic uncertainty in a higher interest rate environment.

The cryptocurrency broker Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group could face further disruptions as they try to resolve their debt problems with crypto exchange Gemini and other creditors.

Here are some of the cryptocurrency industry job cuts in 2023:

Blockchain.com

Crypto platform Blockchain.com will lay off 28% of its workforce, or about 110 employees, the company told CoinDesk. The job cuts follow the elimination of around 150 jobs last year.

coinbase

On Jan. 10, Coinbase announced the elimination of around 950 jobs, or 20% of its workforce. It will close most of its operations in Japan and cancel several projects. Last June, Coinbase laid off 18% of its workforce, the equivalent of about 1,100 employees, and cut another 60 in November.

ConsenSys

Ethereum software company ConsenSys plans to lay off more than 100 people, CoinDesk reported.

LOOK HERE: “The placement of credit in the southern zone is zero or very close to zero”

Genesis

Cryptocurrency brokerage firm Genesis Global Trading Inc. laid off more than 60 employees, or about 30% of its payroll, on Jan. 5. Last August, the company cut 20% of its workforce, while its CEO, Michael Moro, resigned.

Huobi

The Huobi cryptocurrency exchange plans to lay off 20% of its workforce, according to a January report. The company has about 1,100 employees.

Silvergate Capital

Silvergate Capital Corp. said in January that it will cut its workforce by about 200 employees, affecting 40% of its staff. The crypto-friendly bank suffered massive deposit withdrawals, prompting it to sell off assets at huge losses.