Crypto.com cuts down 20% of its workforce, blames FTX scandal for current issues – Times of India

As the global economy slows down companies have been laying off employees left, right, and centre. On top of that, the FTX scandal has made things especially hard for crypto companies that have laid down a sizeable chunk of their staff. Joining the list, Crypto.com recently fired around 20% of its employee base.
This is the second major layoff within a year at Crypto.com. Back in June 2022, the crypto exchange firm had also removed around 260 employees, which was about 5% of its workforce back then.

Crypto.com CEO highlights negative customer behaviour trend post FTX saga
Last year wasn’t a memorable one for the crypto industry when FTX, a former popular exchange, was incriminated for the misappropriation of funds. The firm, which also became bankrupt, shook customer trust and negatively impacted the overall industry.
Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, revealed that the latest layoffs could have been avoided despite the economic slowdown. However, things changed drastically when the FTX scandal struck the industry. On the company’s official blog, Marszalek confirmed, “The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macroeconomic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry.”

This isn’t the only setback the crypto exchange has faced in the past 12 months. Back in August, Crypto.com attracted negative publicity for a financial fiasco. The firm accidentally transferred USD 10.5 million to an Australian user’s account and didn’t notice it until several months later.
Apart from Crypto.com, other crypto firms are also hit by economic downturns. Last week, Coinbase also fired 20% of its staff to make up for the losses in the past year. Another crypto exchange, Kraken, addressed its plan to lay off 1,100 employees or 30% of its workforce last November. In future, more companies in the crypto industry could likely follow suit.