Fintech layoffs mount as October marks 6 months of crypto downturn

After the Terra-Luna collapse sent crypto prices tumbling in May, many firms trimmed substantial parts of their workforce to stabilize their businesses.  

In June, for example, Coinbase laid off around 1,100 employees, BlockFi cut roughly 20% of its workforce, or about 170 people, and Crypto.com let go of over 260 people. The Verge later reported that this number was closer to 2,000. 

Since then, many crypto firms have focused on preparing their operations to withstand a crypto winter. Like FTX, Kraken and Nexo, some have continued to hire, albeit less dramatically. 

But with no signs that the market will rise any time soon, another round of corporate reshuffling has begun, including for those at the very top. MicroStrategy chief Michael Saylor, Kraken’s Jesse Powell, Genesis head Michael Moro, Sam Trabucco of Alameda Research, FTX president Brett Harrison and Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky are all among the high-profile crypto leaders that have left top roles in crypto in the last few months. 

With a fresh round of job cuts underway, here is a roundup of all the job losses that have happened in crypto since April. 

Fintech and crypto firms making job cuts

April 

• Crypto derivatives trading platform BitMEX announced layoffs for 75 employees. The move was made after the collapse of a bank acquisition deal. 
• Robinhood cut about 9% of its staff, out of 3,800 employees reported on December 31, 2021. The news came days before the firm released its first quarter earnings report, plunging the company’s share value by over 5% during extended trading. 

May  

• Latin American crypto exchange Bitso laid off around 80 employees. Amid the cuts, the company was still listing more than 60 open positions on its jobs pages, Coindesk reported. 

• Buenbit, an Argentina-based crypto exchange, cut the jobs of 45% of its staff — or about 80 workers. CEO Federico Ogue denied that it was linked to the recent crash of UST and Luna, and tied it to a “global overhaul” of the tech industry. 
• Buy now, pay later giant Klarna announced its first round of layoffs – roughly 10% of the company’s workforce, or 700 people globally. The cut followed a report from Bloomberg stating that the company’s borrowing costs had hit record levels and its valuation would plunge in its upcoming funding round. 

June 

• CEO Kris Maszalek announced that Crypto.com would lay off 260 employees, or roughly 5% of its workforce. But according to a new report from Ad Age, the exchange massively understated those layoffs, and has quietly dismissed over 2,000 employees. The company has recently said that the Ad Age report was “inaccurate.” 
• Coinbase slashed its workforce by about 18% or approximately 1,100 employees. The decision to make layoffs was, according to CEO Brain Armstrong, to “ensure we stay healthy during this economic downturn.” He also acknowledged that the company had grown too quickly and had “overhired.”   

• Crypto exchange Gemini trimmed about 10% of its workforce, or around 100 employees in June. The company cited “current macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil” as the reason behind the layoffs. 
• BlockFi, a crypto lending and financial services platform, fired roughly 20% of its workers, affecting more than 150 people. Co-founders Zac Prince and Flori Marquez cited “current market conditions that have had a negative impact on our growth rate and a rigorous review of our strategic positions.” 
• Abra, a California-based crypto trading and lending platform, cut 12 jobs, or around 5% of the company’s total workforce in June. The measure was taken “purely as a cost-saving measure,” said CEO Bill Barhydt. 
• On the same day Abra announced layoffs, Hong Kong-based licensed crypto exchange OSL said it had cut between 40 and 60 jobs, or about 15% of its workforce. A company spokesperson asserted that the job cuts were not caused by OSL’s exposure to any troubled crypto firms or tokens, including staked ether (stETH) and TerraUSD (UST). 
• 2TM, the holding company for Mercado Bitcoin, laid off more than 80 employees. The company cited “the changing global financial landscape, rising interest rates and inflation.” Mercado Bitcoin is Brazil’s biggest crypto exchange. 

• Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto futures exchange, laid off some of its workers, but did not disclose the number of jobs lost. The firm offered those affected a severance package and access to the company’s employee career support in their job transition. 
• Australian crypto payment firm Banxa announced that 30% of its staff would lose their jobs, cutting the total from 230 down to 160. The company also paused all expansion efforts in Europe and said it would focus on its operations in Australia and the Philippines. 

July 

• Austrian investing platform Bitpanda cut the jobs of around 270 employees and cancelled existing offers of employment. This move happened only three weeks after the company executives announced to employees in internal Slack channels: “There will not be any kind of massive layoffs.” 
• Crypto exchange Gemini laid off additional staff after its initial round of layoffs in June, according to a report from TechCrunch. “The company had not widely communicated the extent of Monday’s layoffs internally, leaving employees to speculate on the exact number of co-workers laid off in this most recent downsizing,” the publication said. “A source close to the company noted that there was a reduction of 7%, or 68 members, in Gemini’s companywide Slack channel Monday morning.” 

• Bullish, a crypto exchange serving institutional clients, let up to 30 employees go, out of a total staff of about 390. The company said it “continues to actively hire for product, engineering and other strategic roles.” 
• Game developer Immutable cut 8% of its workforce, or more than 20 members of staff. The cuts were part of a reorganization effort that focused on Gods Unchained, Immutable Games’ flagship strategy non-fungible token (NFT) card game, and other job losses were concentrated in Immutable’s talent acquisition team. 
• NFT marketplace OpenSea revealed that roughly 20% of its staff would be let go in an effort to elongate its runway. While the exact number of employees impacted wasn’t disclosed, OpenSea told The Block that 230 employees remain at the company. 

August 

• Robinhood announced that it would lay off approximately 23% of its staff, or roughly 780 people. The cuts were announced along with the company’s second quarter earnings, where it reported a $295 million net loss. Just three months earlier, Robinhood announced job cuts for 9% of its staff.  

September  

• 2TM, the parent company of Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin, laid off about 15% of its staff, or roughly 100 employees. It’s the latest round of layoffs among Latin America-based crypto companies in recent months, following another round of job cuts in June.  

• The Block reported that social media giant Snap was cutting its web3 team in an attempt to cut costs. Jake Sheinman, co-founder of Snap’s web3 team, revealed the company’s plans in a tweet that announced his departure. “As a result of the company restructure, decisions were made to sunset our [w]eb3 team,” he wrote. 
• Buy-now-pay-later fintech pioneer Klarna announced a new round of job cuts, only weeks after its CEO claimed that job losses were over at the firm. The latest round of job losses is set to impact around 100 employees globally, a spokesperson told The Block. In May, the firm laid off around 700 staff.  

October 

• Crypto market-maker GSR announced that it laid off just under 10% of its staff to “position the business for long-term growth,” a GSR spokesperson told The Block. The company cut roles for roughly 30 people, bringing the company’s headcount to 300. 
• China Morning Post and Wu Blockchain reported that move-to-earn fitness app Stepn had laid off over 100 contract workers, including community moderators and ambassadors. A company spokesperson told news outlet Decrypt, however, that the claims were factually inaccurate. STEPN parted ways with inactive MODs, a spokesperson said, and, in fact, is actively hiring for several roles within the company. 
• Coindesk reported that India-based crypto exchange WazirX laid off 50 to 70 people, or approximately 40% of its total workforce. Dismissed employees will receive pay for 45 days, the report said, and will not be required to report for work during that time. 
• Checkout.com, a digital payments platform, has announced that it will dismiss 5% of its workforce, or approximately 100 people. The cuts were first reported by Bloomberg, and reissued in a company statement. 

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