The “crypto winter” just got even colder. Today (Jan. 10) Coinbase (COIN) announced plans to cut 950 jobs, or 20 percent of its total headcount, in the third round of layoffs in less than a year. Last year the cryptocurrency exchange laid off about 1,200 employees.
Coinbase joins a growing number of crypto exchanges and crypto investment firms in slashing costs amid the prolonged drop in cryptocurrency prices and trading volume that began early in 2022.
The dollar price of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies fell nearly 60 percent in 2022, resulting in huge losses for crypto asset firms and exchanges that hold a lot of cryptocurrencies as investments. These exchanges’ revenue also fell significantly last year as trading volume declined. Distrust of crypto companies overall also grew following the collapse of FTX Group and the indictment of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried on charges of fraud.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, saw a wave of customer withdrawals in December even though there was no material signs of its financial trouble. Also in December, San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken said it will close its operation in Japan this month, blaming a “weak crypto market globally.”
Here is a list of notable crypto firm layoffs in the past three months (click columns to sort):