Crypto exchange Bitget to increase headcount 25% by year-end despite market conditions

Crypto exchange Bitget isn’t slowing down on hiring despite the worsening market conditions and the recent collapse of leading crypto derivatives exchange FTX. 

Bitget, which was founded in 2018, announced earlier this year that it aimed to have a workforce of 1,000 members by the end of this year. This would be a 25% increase from its current headcount of 800 people.

Bitget’s managing director Gracy Chen said the exchange is still targeting this figure for the end of this year. Over the past six months, Bitget’s workforce has already increased 78% to 800 from 450 employees, she said at a panel at the Token2049 conference in London.

“We are operating without debt and adequate cash flow, making solid progress and will roll out more initiatives for infrastructure projects in the bear market,” Chen said in a statement to The Block.

“The chaos happened in the last few days has little impact on us,” she added.

FTX announced that it was facing a liquidity crunch earlier this week and that it would be acquired by rival exchange Binance. The deal with Binance fell through Wednesday. Earlier today, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried apologized and said that he would look to wind down trading at sister firm Alameda Research. 

The exchange does not have any exposure to FTX, Alameda Research and the FTT token, Chen said.

Going against the grain

Bitget’s expansion plans come at a time when layoffs are taking place across the crypto industry. Trading firm GSR and crypto exchanges Bitmex and Crypto.com were among those to lay off staff in recent weeks.

Fidelity Digital Assets is also one of the few firms in the midst of a hiring spree in this market environment with plans for 100 more crypto hires over the next six months.

Singapore-based Bitget launched a $200 million fund in August to protect user assets. The exchange is in the process of working to disclose its merkle-tree proof of reserves as a result of this week’s events; Chen expects this to be available within a month.

The exchange, which is ranked eighth for crypto derivatives on Coinmarketcap, also recently entered into an exclusive partnership with football star Lionel Messi ahead of the World Cup.

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