Crypto.com cuts 20% of staff due to ‘significant damage’ to industry post-FTX
Christopher Hutton
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A major cryptocurrency company is cutting jobs amid a struggling tech job market as well as the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.
Crypto.com, one of the larger digital assets companies, announced on Friday that it was cutting its global force by 20%. It is the second major layoff for the company, which also cut 250 jobs in the middle of 2022.
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“We grew ambitiously at the start of 2022, building on our incredible momentum and aligning with the trajectory of the broader industry. That trajectory changed rapidly with a confluence of negative economic developments,” Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said in a blog post.
Crypto.com is not the only one to make cuts. Coinbase also cut 20% of its workforce this week. Kraken, another cryptoexchange, also announced its plans to lay off 1,100 employees, or 30% of its total workforce.
Crypto.com is reeling from the cultural impact of FTX’s collapse, which filed for bankruptcy months ago and whose founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is facing criminal fraud charges. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty on Jan. 3 and attempted to defend his decisions in a Thursday newsletter by saying customer money was still available for withdrawal.
The Justice Department has also been investigating other aspects of the FTX collapse scandal, such as the alleged hack after it went bankrupt.
A bankruptcy lawyer recently claimed that the company recovered some $5 billion in assets.
Crypto.com made news last year after it released a Super Bowl ad featuring Matt Damon. The company also accidentally transferred $10.5 million in crypto assets to a woman in Australia, then failed to notice the error until seven months after.
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The tech industry has been laying off thousands of workers over the last few months as they adapt to declining revenue and expectations of a coming recession. More than 90,000 tech workers were laid off in 2022, according to Crunchbase.