BlockFi’s trading and lending platform decided to follow in the footsteps of Geminis, CryptoCom and other digital asset firms that chose to reduce their staff size massively following the downtrend that hit the crypto industry. About 20% of the 850+ employees will be laid off, based on a company’s blog site post written by co-founders Zac Prince and Flori Marquez.
The blog post states that the main cause of the massive reduction in workers is due to "dramatic changes in macroeconomic conditions around the world". Recent staff reductions affect every team in the company. The move is aimed at reducing spending in preparation for the "ongoing global recession."
Since the end of 2020, the firm’s staff has grown from 150 employees to over 850 employees. However, a dramatic shift in market conditions starting from the first quarter of 2022 has forced BlockFi to halt expansion and readjust its strategy.
Aiming for profit, the company said it would eliminate four key operating expense segments, including reductions in marketing expenses and executive compensation, slow employee growth, and eliminate non -critical vendors. Despite the dramatic staff reduction, the firm stated that it would not affect its services which cover 650,000 global customers.
On the other hand, Crypto.Com CEO Kris Marszalek said via the Twitter network that the Singapore-based exchange is ready to lay off 5% or about 260 employees amid prolonged market sell-offs.
Two weeks ago, Winklevoss -led Gemini also announced a 10%staff cut, acknowledging that the company was in a contraction phase. Yet leading crypto companies such as FTX and Binance are of the opposite view who see it as the best time to increase the number of employees.
