Crypto.com cuts 20% of staff, citing economic hurdles and FTX collapse
Several hundred employees were shut out of company’s internal systems
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Crypto.com is cutting a fifth of its global workforce in a second round of layoffs in six months after a plunge in the value of many cryptocurrencies and the collapse of rival FTX.
Kris Marszalek, the cryptocurrency exchange’s co-founder and CEO, blamed "a confluence of negative economic developments" for the reductions, which followed staff cuts that took place in July. The additional reductions were necessary to position Crypto.com for long-term success, he said Friday in a blog post.
Marszalek didn’t say how many employees were laid off. Several hundred individuals found out on Friday that they no longer had access to Crypto.com’s systems and were being laid off, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Crypto.com bought the rights to rename the arena that is home to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters Photos)
In the middle of last year, Singapore-based Crypto.com said that 260 people, or around 5% of its staff, would be made redundant. Marszalek said in his Friday blog post that the recent implosion of rival exchange FTX had severely damaged trust in the industry.
Several crypto exchanges were hit by heavy withdrawals following the sudden collapse of FTX in November. A misstep by Crypto.com around that time also added to its woes. That month, Marszalek said the company had mishandled a roughly $400 million transaction.
Marszalek’s Friday blog post said Crypto.com has more than 70 million users worldwide and the company maintains "a strong balance sheet."
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Several crypto exchanges were hit by heavy withdrawals following the sudden collapse of FTX in November. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration / Reuters)
A Crypto.com spokesperson said in response to queries, "The layoffs will not impact our ability to continue to be a leader in compliance and security, which continue to be critical in our effort to restore trust in the industry."
Crypto.com’s latest cuts come after similar moves by other crypto exchanges, lenders and other industry players. At least 1,500 crypto jobs have been axed this month alone, including about 950 that were cut at Coinbase Global Inc. this week and reductions at Huobi, another exchange operator. The firms cited the rout in cryptocurrency prices as reasons for the layoffs.
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Crypto.com has gained attention for its splashy marketing campaigns in recent years. It featured actor Matt Damon in a commercial in late 2021, and has run ads at the Super Bowl and the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The company earlier bought the rights to rename the arena that is home to the Los Angeles Lakers to Crypto.com Arena, and is also a Formula One sponsor.