Among the many layoffs, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, acknowledged that there could be a few more job cuts in the future as part of a long-term plan to “run the company responsibly.”
Speaking at the Financial Times’ “The Next Web” conference in Amsterdam yesterday, a senior Coinbase executive announced that “there may be more cuts on the cards, noting that we don’t expect it at this time.”
A week ago, Nasdaq-listed Coinbase Global, Inc. announced a reduction of approximately 1100 employees, according to an SEC disclosure. Earlier, the company announced the cancellation of job offers and a hiring freeze. CEO Brian Armstrong wrote in a company blog post that the decision to cut staff came amid threats of a recession after a boom that lasted more than ten years. Armstrong wrote: “In the last crypto winter, trading revenue[हमारा सबसे बड़ा राजस्व स्रोत]has declined significantly.” He also said that one of the ways the company survived the last crypto winter was to reduce spending.
Being a company whose business relies heavily on consumer trading activity, Coinbase reported a loss of $429.7 million in May for the first quarter, dropping its share price to $51 from a peak of $429.54 in 2021. Experienced soon after its initial public offering. Gemini, BlockFi, Crypto.com and Robinhood Markets have cut their labor force.
Coinbase Is One Of Many Crypto Companies To Cut Employees
The cryptocurrency has suffered over the past six months, with bitcoin falling nearly 70% from its peak $69K in November last year to below $20K at the time of writing. The broader crypto market has wiped out over $2 trillion, with a cumulative market capitalization of $867 billion at press time.
Coinbase’s staff crunch means it is one of several cryptocurrency companies that have had to tighten their belts during a difficult month and a half that began with the collapse of the TeraUSD stablecoin, which cost investors $40 billion. Crypto lender Celsius unilaterally halted withdrawals, swaps and exchanges earlier this month, while another lender, Babel Finance, halted withdrawals and suspension on June 17, 2022.
‘Very, very difficult environment’
Despite its first quarter losses, Coinbase remains confident that it will meet its second quarter forecasts. While the company is operating in a “very, very difficult environment,” Shirzad said the company did what was in its best interest over the long term.
Speaking about employee sentiment at the company following a recently leaked employee petition criticizing senior executives at the exchange, Shirzad said, “If people are not happy with the company, they obviously have no specific concerns.” … but at the same time, isn’t it right for them, so, you know, there are a lot of other places they can take their talents as well.” His statement echoed a tweet by Armstrong, who invited Employees who don’t have confidence in the executive team may “quit and find a company to work for you that you believe in.”
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