With non-fungible token (NFT) sales a lot lower than they were at the start of the year, NFT companies and marketplaces are feeling the pain associated with the second-largest crypto winter to date. According to a report published on Monday and “multiple people familiar with the situation,” the NFT company Candy Digital is laying off over a third of the firm’s staff.
After Raising $100 Million in 2021, Report Says Candy Digital Cuts a Third of Its Employees a Year Later
On Monday, Sportico’s sports business reporter Eben Novy-Williams reported that the NFT firm Candy Digital “is laying off a large chunk of its workforce, according to multiple people familiar with the decision.” Sportico’s article notes that roughly one-third of Candy Digital’s 100 staff members are being let go, the people familiar with the matter detailed.
Candy Digital is a Fanatics-backed NFT marketplace that’s also bolstered by Galaxy Digital’s Michael Novogratz, and the business entrepreneur and NFT creator Gary Vaynerchuk. Candy Digital launched in June 2021 and at the time the company revealed a long-term partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB).
Sportico details that the publication’s news team reached out to both Candy Digital and the collectibles giant Fanatics, but both firms declined to comment about the alleged layoffs. The news comes at a time when NFT sales and overall interest in NFTs are both down a great deal since the start of 2022.
NFT sales, however, have been steady since October, and November’s NFT sales were 22% higher than October’s sales volume. Candy Digital was able to raise $100 million last year, and it gained a $1.5 billion post-valuation after the capital raise that occurred on Oct. 21, 2021.
There were ten investors that funneled capital into Candy Digital last year, including investors such as Insight Partners, Softbank, Peyton Manning, Gaingels, and Will Ventures. The NFT platform is not the only crypto business that has let staff go as the entire crypto industry has been plagued with staff reductions all year.
In the world of NFTs, Dapper Labs, the blockchain firm behind the popular NFT collections NFL All Day and NBA Top Shot, slashed 22% of the company’s workforce at the start of November. Last July, the largest NFT marketplace in terms of overall sales volume, Opensea, cut 20% of the company’s staff.
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