Kraken, one of the longest running
cryptocurrency exchanges, has shed its global workforce by 30%, firing
approximately 1,100 people “in order to adapt to current market conditions.”
The action, which the United States-based
crypto exchange announced on
Wednesday, comes at a time when some crypto firms based in the country are undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. These include Chicago-based FTX.US, the
US subsidiary of beleaguered FTX; and New Jersey-based crypto lenders BlockFi and Celsius Network.
However, Kraken attributed the move
to “negative influences on the financial markets.” The exchange explained that
it had tripled its workforce during the crypto market boom of the past years. However,
with the market downturn in recent times, it had no other “preferable options”
to bring down its operational cost.
“Since the start of this year,
macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have weighed on financial markets. This
resulted in significantly lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups. We
responded by slowing hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments,”
Jesse Powell, Kraken’s Co-Fouder and CEO explained in the statement.
Powell further noted that the action,
which returns the exchange’s workforce back to its size only 12 months ago,
will enable the exchange to “to sustain the business for the long-term.” It
will also enable Kraken to continue “to build world-class products and services
in selective areas that add the most value for our clients.”
Recent Mass Layoffs
Kraken’s action is a continuation of the mass retrenchment in the crypto industry that started some months ago. The crypto firms that laid off significant portions of their teams all cited rising market volatility.
In June, New York-based Gemini cut
its workforce by 10%, Coinbase by
18%, and now-bankrupt BlockFi by 20%. Crypto.com, a Singapore-based
crypto exchange, also pruned its by 5% or 260 workers.
On the contrary, however, leading crypto
exchange Binance announced months
ago that it was undergoing talent recruitment for 2,000 open job positions.
Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin also previously clarified that it
had no plans to make any significant changes to its hiring plan for this year.
In a recent interview with
Finance Magnates, Dr Christopher…
