'Hardest Day Ever': BlockFi and Crypto.com Become Latest to Announce Layoffs
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'Hardest Day Ever': BlockFi and Crypto.com Become Latest to Announce Layoffs

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Created 1yr ago, last updated 1yr ago

As Bitcoin's value falls sharply, companies across the industry are having to make tough decisions in their quest to remain profitable.

'Hardest Day Ever': BlockFi and Crypto.com Become Latest to Announce Layoffs

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BlockFi and Crypto.com have become the latest companies to confirm they're laying off staff.

Confronted by a brutal bear market that shows no sign of slowing down, Kris Marszalek said Crypto.com was making the "difficult and necessary decision" to reduce its workforce by 5%.

This means that the exchange will lose 260 staff members as it battles "to ensure continued and sustainable growth for the long term."

Crypto.com, which until recently was spending countless millions of dollars on high-profile sponsorship deals — including naming rights to the LA stadium formerly known as the Staples Center — said it is determined to continue hitting milestones on its roadmap, and "optimizing for profitability as we do so."

Marszalek drew parallels to the crypto winter seen in 2018 and 2019, and said the trading platform's conviction throughout that bear market "was what made us one of the fastest-growing companies in 2021."

In a statement, the CEO said he was determined "to position ourselves as the strongest builders during the down cycle to become the biggest winners during the next bull run," adding:

"The markets will turn, and when they do, you can be sure that we will be ready to drive and capture the next wave of growth for cryptocurrency adoption."

BlockFi Wields the Ax, Too

Celsius Network caused alarm when it announced that it was pausing all withdrawals — an attempt by the crypto lender to ensure that it can continue meeting its obligations in the longer term.

That prompted BlockFi, one of its rivals, to stress that all of its products and services were continuing to operate normally.

Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that the firm isn't in retreat.

In a statement, co-founders Zac Prince and Flori Marquez said:

"We've been through several tough days at BlockFi in the past, but today is probably the hardest. Like many others in the tech industry, we have been impacted by the dramatic shift in macroeconomic conditions worldwide. We are in the gut-wrenching position of needing to reduce our headcount today. This is not a decision we take lightly and candidly is one that brings us great sadness."

In BlockFi's case, the company's headcount is going to be reduced by approximately 20% — with the executives warning this will impact "every team."

The fintech firm said it wants to support affected employees in their quest to find a new role — and BlockFi's People team "will be connecting our former colleagues directly with companies that are hiring."

The cutbacks have also been accompanied by efforts to reduce BlockFi's marketing budget, as well as slashing executive pay and slowing headcount growth more generally. Unfortunately, this alone hasn't been enough to ensure profitability goals are achieved.

Stressing that clients shouldn't be affected, the pair added:

"We know this is a hard day, but BlockFi will persevere. Our ambition and commitment remains the same: to provide crypto-powered financial services that accelerate prosperity worldwide."
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