Crypto firms cut nearly 3,000 jobs in January despite Bitcoin’s rise

It was a tough month for crypto employees, with at least 14 firms announcing staff reductions, including Coinbase, Gemini, Digital Currency Group, ConsenSys and Blockchain.com.

Crypto companies tightened their purse strings in the first month of 2023, with at least 2,900 crypto staff cut loose across 14 crypto firms in January.

The latest firm to reportedly initiate a layoff is the crypto infrastructure provider Prime Trust, which has reportedly reduced its employee count by a third.

The reduction would equate to an estimated 100 or so staff cut, as Prime had 312 employees on LinkedIn at the time of writing.

Other recent cuts over the last few days include 30 staff from the crypto platform Matrixport being let go, according to a Jan. 27 Bloomberg report, while an earlier Jan. 23 report from The Information said that roughly 100 staff were laid off from the crypto exchange Gemini.

The largest staff layoff for the month was initiated by crypto exchange Coinbase, which reduced its headcount by around 950 employees on Jan. 10.

Its peer exchanges Crypto.com, Luno and Huobi trailed with reductions of around 500, 330 and 320 employees respectively.

Embattled crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiaries similarly saw significant layoffs with 485 workers sacked in January alone as the firm navigates a financial crisis.

The DCG-owned Luno saw the most layoffs, while DCG itself slashed 66 employees, its subsidiary lending platform Genesis cut 63 jobs and its asset management firm HQ Digital shuttered, affecting 26 staff.

Related: Crypto recruitment execs reveal the safest jobs amid layoff season

Rounding out the list were the 200 members of staff let go by crypto bank Silvergate, the 110 employees cut from the Blockchain.com exchange and the 96 staff terminated from MetaMask’s parent company, ConsenSys.

Meanwhile, 20 staff members were let go from the nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace SuperRare.

These staff cuts came despite Bitcoin (BTC) performing strongly in the month, targeting nearly $25,000 as institutional demand has continued to increase.

However, the large-scale crypto industry layoffs were not in isolation. Around 48,000 people in January alone were let go from just four companies: Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce.

While some may believe there’s more gloom ahead, crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital believes there’s never been a better time to start a blockchain company, claiming that bear markets provide “less noise and distraction from building.”