Gemini Slashes Staff Due to Harsh Crypto Market
- Gemini had earlier laid off 10% of its staff due to decreased trading activities.
A few weeks ago, a popular crypto exchange, Gemini, announced that it had cut down 10% of its staff due to the harsh effect of the bear market. Close sources recently revealed that the firm has once again reduced its staff amid the continued market crisis.
Reports revealed that there were 68 fewer employees from Gemini’s Slack group, meaning an additional 7% has been laid off by the crypto start-up firm. The crypto firm is yet to officially confirm the exact details of the recent layoff, leaving employees to speculate on what had happened. Sources who spoke on the conditions of anonymity told TechCrunch that Gemini said it was laying off staff to cut down its cost.
The said unnamed source alleged that an internal operating plan document was recently posted on a professional network, but was swiftly removed. The document detailed plans to cut down Gemini’s staff by 15%.
Many crypto exchanges raked in huge profits during the previous market boom. It however appears surprising that these platforms are laying off staff to survive the scare. Companies like Coinbase, BlockcFi, Crypto.com, Bitpanda, and Gemini have all had to let some staff go in recent weeks.
The answer to the recent layoffs is that exchanges often increase their cost as their revenues increase. Some employed new staff to cope with the growing demand during the boom, however, those workers have become financial burdens as a result of declining trade volumes.
Trading volume across some of the top crypto exchanges significantly reduced in June following Terra’s collapse in May. In the midst of the prolonged market slump, crypto spot and derivatives volumes on exchanges have decreased by more than 15% to over $4.2 trillion since May.
Many top exchanges make their profit from fees and engagement on their platforms and unlike in 2021 when the market was booming, the bear market, coupled with a series of recent project failures has kept people away from the crypto space.
Terra was the first to begin a cycle of project failures after its stablecoin, UST, lost its dollar peg, causing the LUNA price to crash to the possible low. Others such as Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC, Celsius and Voyager later followed similar path of failure.
According to experts, the failures of these top projects also triggered the reduced trading volumes in Q2. Investors became more critical of the crypto space, especially stablecoins, which were once seen as the most reliable store of value in the crypto market.
Several investors lost their life earnings to Terra’s crash with many also losing their lives in the process. As a result, authorities became increasingly concerned about the safety of investor money and sort to set up strict measures to regulate the space.
In conclusion, the crypto space is facing an unprecedented time in its history. All aspects of the market are feeling the heat. With regulation seemingly on the way, most investors are keen to observe how this all plays out.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
