Cryptocurrency companies tightened their budgets in the first month of 2023, with at least 2,900 cryptocurrency employees laid off at 14 cryptocurrency companies in January.
The latest company to initiate a layoff is reportedly crypto infrastructure provider Prime Trust, which has reportedly reduced its employee account by a third.
The reduction would equate to an estimated staff cut of 100 or more, as Prime had 312 employees at LinkedIn at the time of writing.
Other recent cuts in recent days include the layoff of 30 employees of the Matrixport crypto platform, according to a Bloomberg report on Jan. 27. reportwhile a previous January 23 report The Information said that approximately 100 employees have been laid off from the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange.
The largest layoff of the month was initiated by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which cut its headcount by around 950 employees on Jan. 10.
Its peer exchanges Crypto.com, Luno, and Huobi lagged behind with reductions of around 500, 330, and 320 employees, respectively.
Beleaguered cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiaries also suffered significant layoffs with 485 workers laid off in January alone as the company navigates a financial crisis.
DCG-owned Luno recorded the most layoffs, while DCG itself cut 66 employees, its Genesis lending platform subsidiary shed 63 jobs and its asset management company HQ Digital shut down, affecting 26 employees.
Related: Cryptocurrency Hiring Executives Reveal the Most Secure Jobs Amid Laying Season
Rounding out the list were the 200 staff members laid off by crypto bank Silvergate, all 110 employees Court of the Blockchain.com exchange and laid off 96 staff from MetaMask’s parent company, ConsenSys.
Meanwhile, 20 staff members were laid off from the SuperRare non-fungible token (NFT) market.
These staff cuts came despite Bitcoin (BTC) performing strongly on the month, targeting nearly $25,000 as institutional demand has continued to rise.
However, the large-scale layoffs from the crypto industry were not isolated. Some 48,000 people only in January were let go of just four companies: Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce.
While some may believe there is more pessimism ahead, crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital believes there has never been a better time to start a blockchain company, stating that bear markets bring “less construction noise and distraction.”
