Crypto.com is making plans to lay off 5% of its corporate staff which accounts for about 260 individuals due to a decline in the crypto market.
As the markets continue to decline, Crypto.com will lay off 260 individuals, or 5% of its corporate personnel, according to CEO Kris Marszalek in a tweet on Saturday.
Marszalek described the layoffs as a “tough and necessary” choice to “ensure continuous and sustainable growth for the long future,” according to a Twitter thread. The company’s “emphasis on building” during the 2018-19 crypto winter was also mentioned by the CEO, who alluded to the current “market slowdown.”
During that time, the price of Bitcoin fell by around 65 percent, from a high of nearly $20,000 in December 2017 to a low of about $7,000 in February 2018.
“We’ll keep evaluating how to best optimize our resources to position ourselves as the strongest builders during the down cycle so that we may be the biggest winners during the next bull run,” Marszalek stated.
Crypto.com was the 14th largest cryptocurrency exchange by spot volume on Monday morning, with $1.3 billion in trading volume on the previous day. Crypto.com has spent a lot of money on marketing in the last six months.
The Singapore-based exchange spent an estimated $700 million to become the FIFA World Cup 2022’s sole crypto exchange sponsor, paid $100 million for Matt Damon to participate in a Super Bowl commercial, and spent $700 million to rename the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Bitcoin was selling for about $23,500 on Monday morning, down 65 percent from its all-time high of $68,789.63 reached in November 2021. According to CoinMarketCap, the overall market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has dropped below $1 trillion, to $983 billion, from $3 trillion in November.
Crypto.com isn’t the only major cryptocurrency company that has reduced its employees in preparation for the coming crypto winter.
Gemini has fired off 10% of its workforce, while Coinbase put a hiring freeze in place before rescinding previously extended job offers. Bitso, Mexico’s largest crypto exchange, recently off 10% of its employees in Latin America. Buenbit, an Argentine cryptocurrency exchange, has laid off 45 percent of its workforce.
