Crypto retrenchment persists with over 2,000 jobs lost in 2023

THE digital assets industry has shed more than 2,000 jobs in the first two months of 2023, as companies continued to retrench even as crypto prices staged a partial recovery.

US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global this week indicated that more layoffs could be in store, after cutting 20 per cent of its workforce in January. Other trading venues including Crypto.com, Huobi Global, Gemini and Luno also announced job cuts in the past two months. Exchanges’ revenues are reliant on retail trading, which has been slow to pick up after a wave of failures and scandals ripped through the sector last year.

Layoffs have been widespread among other types of crypto businesses too. Chainalysis, a company that specialises in tracking digital-asset transactions and counts Singapore’s GIC among investors, in early February announced job cuts. Brevan Howard-backed researcher Messari has trimmed its workforce by 15 per cent, CoinDesk has reported.

Here are some of the crypto job cuts announced or reported so far in 2023:

Elliptic

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic is laying off 20 employees or about 10 per cent of its staff, DL News has reported.

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Messari

The crypto data and exchange platform has cut 15 per cent of its workforce as part of a restructuring effort, according to CoinDesk.

Immutable

The Australia-based blockchain-gaming firm has made layoffs affecting 11 per cent of staff, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Polygon Labs

The main operator of Polygon blockchain announced that it has let go of around 100 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce, as part of a consolidation of business units.

GSR

One of the oldest market makers in crypto eliminated about 20 positions in January, the second round of job cuts at the firm.

Magic Eden

The non-fungible token marketplace announced that it has cut 22 roles as part of a “company-wide restructuring”.

Protocol Labs

The company behind decentralised file storage network Filecoin announced in a blog post that it will cut 89 roles across several teams, or 21 per cent of its staff.

Bittrex

Crypto exchange Bittrex has laid off more than 80 people, as reported by CoinDesk.

Chainlysis

The company known for its crypto transaction tracking services said it made layoffs affecting less than 5 per cent of its 900 employees.

Matrixport

The digital-asset lender is shedding 10 per cent of its 300-strong workforce.

Luno

The crypto exchange owned by Digital Currency Group announced that it is reducing about 35 per cent of its workforce.

Bitcoin Suisse

The digital-asset investment firm said it has laid off some positions, but declined to give an exact number. A spokesperson said it was “substantially below” the industry average of about 30 per cent of the headcount. The company also streamlined its leadership: chief risk officer Sven Ramspott also serves the finance chief role, duties held by Philipp Vonmoos, who’s leaving the company after five years.

Blockchain.com

Blockchain.com is letting go of 28 per cent of its workforce or about 110 employees. It cut about 150 roles last year. After the layoffs, the company’s headcount will stand at 280, up from 160 at the beginning of 2021.

Coinbase

On Jan 10, Coinbase announced a reduction of about 950 employees or 20 per cent of its workforce. It’s closing most of its operations in Japan and shutting down several projects. Last June, Coinbase laid off 18 per cent of its workforce, the equivalent of roughly 1,100 employees, and it eliminated another 60 in November.

ConsenSys

Ethereum software company ConsenSys confirmed that it’s eliminating 96 positions, representing 11 per cent of the crypto firm’s total workforce.

Crypto.com

Crypto.com said it laid off about 20 per cent 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 eliminated another 10 per cent of its workforce. The firm remains pressured by a months-long crypto slump.

Genesis

Brokerage Genesis Global Trading laid off more than 60 employees, or about 30 per cent of its workforce, on Jan 5. Last August, the company eliminated 20 per cent of its workforce.

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.

Silvergate Capital

Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital said in January it’s reducing headcount by about 200 people.

SuperRare

Non-fungible token marketplace SuperRare reduced staff by about 30 per cent in January, according to a tweet from chief executive officer John Crain.

Huobi

Crypto exchange Huobi said it’s planning to cut 20 per cent of its workforce, according to a statement in January. The company has about 1,100 employees. BLOOMBERG