Major exchanges and startups have ceased operations or laid off personnel, resulting in an estimated 23,600 job losses in the cryptocurrency industry.
In recent months, the cryptocurrency industry as a whole has witnessed a sizable number of employee layoffs due to economic reasons.
Because of the bear market, the value of various cryptocurrencies has significantly dropped, making it harder for enterprises in the industry to maintain their revenue. Companies are having a difficult time securing capital and generating income since, in addition, the regulatory landscape is uncertain and there is a general lack of popular adoption.
Second, economies all over the world are currently going through a period of economic decline. During times like these, central banks traditionally look to the Federal Reserve for guidance on monetary policy matters such as interest rate choices. This is due to the fact that the Fed plays a preeminent position in the global economy, and the measures it takes have the potential to have a considerable impact on the international financial markets.
As a direct consequence of these factors, a great deal of businesses have been compelled to reduce the scope of their activities and to terminate the employment of some of their workforce.
Crypto company layoffs timeline
Crypto companies have announced staff reductions in response to the persistently bearish market conditions. The following is a chronological list of the biggest cryptocurrency companies that have reduced their workforce in recent months:
January 13th, 2023 – Crypto.com will cut 20% of its staff.
January 12th, 2023 – Cryptocurrency brokerage Blockchain.com is letting go of 28% of its workforce.
January 10th, 2023 – ConsenSys, which employs about 900 people, plans to lay off 100 of its workforce..
January 10th, 2023 – Coinbase is planning to cut around 20%, or 950 individuals, from its workforce.
January 5th, 2023 – Crypto exchange Huobi lays off 20% of its staff.
January 5th, 2023 – Crypto lender Genesis Global Trading lays off 30% of its staff.
December 5th, 2022 – Bybit lays off 30% of its staff.
November 30th, 2022 – Crypto exchange Kraken cuts 30% of its staff.
Binance maintains its strength as it prepares for a hiring frenzy in 2023.
As crypto companies cut jobs in the wake of the massive FTX collapse and the broader economic downturn in the industry, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange hopes to expand its workforce by 15% to 30% this year, CEO Changpeng Zhao said at an industry conference on January 11th.
According to Zhao:
“We will continue to build and hopefully we will ramp up again before the next bull market.”
Final Thoughts
The increase in interest rates brought on by the Federal Reserve could make it more challenging for firms to grow and hire new personnel. Higher interest rates can also make it more expensive for firms to borrow money, making it more challenging for them to invest in new innovations or technology. This may result in slower economic development, which would force businesses to cut back on operations and lay off workers.
However, there are also other numerous factors (i.e. how the business operates) that can affect whether a company decides to lay off workers in addition to the complicated relationship between interest rates and layoffs.
In order for businesses to be ready for the next economic downturn or the next bear market, they would have to master the art of cash flow management and revenue protection.