<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655218359833,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017f-e2f4-de00-a7ff-e7fff8030000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655218359833,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017f-e2f4-de00-a7ff-e7fff8030000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55215856", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1031741"} }); ","_id":"00000181-628f-d702-a3cf-6fcf760d0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedA major crypto exchange has announced that it is reducing its team by an estimated 18%.
The team reduction was announced by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on Tuesday amid a shrinking Bitcoin market and continuing shifts in the cryptocurrency market that have led to trillions lost in value. The layoffs will account for more than 1,100 employees from the company, according to CNBC.
“Today, I am making the difficult decision to reduce the size of our team by about 18% to ensure we stay healthy during this economic downturn,” Armstrong wrote in a blog post. The CEO justified the decision to lay off staff by noting rapidly changing conditions of the world economy, the need to manage costs in a “down market,” and growth that was too quick.
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Armstrong took full responsibility for the layoffs and noted that the company would contact all laid-off employees on Tuesday. He also said that employees departing on Tuesday would receive a minimum of 14 weeks of severance, four months of health insurance, and assistance finding new jobs.
“To our colleagues who are departing, I want to say thank you for giving everything to this company and that I am sorry,” Armstrong concluded. “I hope that as we grow again, we get a chance to hire you back. We would not be where we are today without your hard work and dedication to our mission. I am incredibly grateful for everything you have done to contribute to our success.”
Coinbase is not the only company to announce layoffs and hiring freezes. Gemini Trust and Rain Financial also announced hiring freezes in May. Financial technology companies cut more jobs in May than they did in the first four months of 2022, according to Fortune.
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However, not all crypto exchanges are laying off staff.
“We have a very healthy war chest. We, in fact, are expanding hiring right now. If we are in a crypto winter, we will leverage that. We will use that to the max,” Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said during a video appearance at the Consensus 2022 conference.
When asked why he had such a “healthy war chest,” Zhao jabbed at his competitors, noting that the company did not buy naming rights to arenas or purchase Super Bowl ads.
The cryptocurrency market saw its total market cap drop by an estimated 12% on Monday to $980 billion. This drop continues a seven-month plummet for the crypto market, causing it to lose more than $2 trillion in value since the November 2021 peak. Bitcoin is now at its lowest level since 2020.
