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Apart from cutting its workforce, Blockchain.com is also lowering its institutional lending operations.
Many investors, traders, and companies are victims of the ongoing crypto bear market, and Blockchain.com has also had its share as it announced reducing its workforce. Like other crypto companies that have lowered headcounts in the wake of the market condition, crypto exchange Blockchain.com is letting go of 25% of its entire workforce. About 44% of the impacted workers are in Argentina. While 26% are in the US, 16% are in the UK and the remaining are spread across other parts of the world.
Announcing the decision on July 21st, Blockchain.com said it is letting go of one-quarter of its workforce. This portion equates to 150 people. The company has assured severance pay to layoff victims, ranging from four to 12 weeks. Blockchain.com will also assist with job replacement for impacted UK and US employees.
Over the past weeks, many crypto companies have had to cut off jobs amid the crypto bear market. Crypto.com revealed plans to cut more than 400 jobs, and Gemini conducted a second round of layoffs after dismissing 10% of employees. At the time, co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss complained of “turbulent market conditions that are likely to persist for some time.” BlockFi was not left out in the cutting of jobs trend. Also, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) reduced full-time jobs in preparation for crypto winter and recession.
Blockchain.com Is Reducing Workforce
As for Blockchain.com, the decision was taken to absorb financial losses and navigate the harsh market condition. Earlier this month, the exchange said it was about to lose $270 million from lending to crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. A court in the British Virgin Islands ordered the hedge fund to liquidate on June 22nd, 2022. Due to this, Blockchain.com had to deal with a shortfall. However, a representative said the exchange’s past fundraising efforts would help it survive the financial loss.
To suck up the losses, Blockchain.com is shutting its offices in Argentina. It is also dismissing team expansion plans in different countries. A representative revealed that the company is back to its January 2022 staffing levels following the layoff. The exchange had grown from 150 employees to over 600 over the past 16 months.
Apart from cutting its workforce, Blockchain.com is also lowering its institutional lending operations. The company has slowed down its NFT marketplace, suspended its gaming expansion plans, and stopped all mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, the crypto exchange has cut its CEO compensations and executive salaries. The representative revealed that Blockchain.com needs time to recover, noting consumer revenue remains strong and institutional revenue is flat.