It has been a difficult couple of months for the cryptocurrency industry, and nobody has felt the heat more than crypto-related personnel, who have been leaving in droves over the last several weeks.
Following an initial recruiting freeze, Coinbase has become the latest business to lay off employees in response to the market downturn. The corporation is eliminating more than 1,000 jobs or 18 percent of its staff.
Coinbase Expects a Prolonged Crypto Winter
According to a blog post published on Tuesday by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, the business is cutting its workforce by 18 percent in an attempt to stay healthy in the current financial climate.
Armstrong stated that the firm “overhired” during the bull market due to its rapid expansion. The number of Coinbase workers increased from 1,250 at the start of 2021 to around 5,000. According to a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the corporation is now getting rid of 1,100 of these workers.
The layoffs are anticipated to assist the company in weathering the imminent global recession, which “may lead to another crypto winter and might linger for a prolonged length of time.”
The leaving workers will be advised of their fates through their personal emails since the business has restricted their access to Coinbase systems owing to the fact that some of them had access to sensitive client data, the CEO said.
Coinbase anticipates that the current decision would cost between $40 and $45 million in severance pay and other termination compensation for impacted employees.
Continued Crypto-Related Job Losses
Coinbase workers who have been let off will get 14 weeks of severance compensation and have access to the company’s newly-launched Talent Hub to hunt for new employment possibilities.
Coinbase’s layoffs are only the most recent in a troubling pattern of crypto-related job losses that are roiling the sector. In recent weeks, Gemini, BlockFi, Bitso, and Crypto.Com have all announced layoffs in reaction to the current market decline.
Bitcoin is presently trading at about $21,924, which is 67.4 percent less than its all-time high of $69,044 reached in November 2021.
The ripple effects of gloomy markets are wreaking havoc on the development and growth of bitcoin companies. In contrast to these organisations, however, the top exchange by trading volume, Binance, is aggressively recruiting new personnel.
Also Read: The CEO Of MicroStrategy Intends To Hold Bitcoin ‘Throughout Tribulation’
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