Kraken Crypto Exchange Cuts 30% of Workforce, Binance CEO Makes Indirect Tweet
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced a major job cut, laying off 30% of its workforce or 1,100 people. Meanwhile, Binance CEO CZ warned users in a now-deleted Tweet to beware of platforms that "have layoffs."
In a Wednesday blog post, Kraken co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell said they are laying off around 1,100 people in an attempt to "adapt to current market conditions." He claimed that the reduction brings the platform's team size back to where it was one year ago.
Powell cited slowing growth that has been prompted by “macroeconomic and geopolitical factors” as the reason for poor performance. He noted that the recent market downturn has decreased customer demand, lowered trading volumes and cut sign-ups.
"We responded by slowing hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments. Unfortunately, negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand."
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world’s largest and longest running crypto exchanges. It ranks 15th among centralized crypto platforms in terms of trading volume, according to data by CoinGecko, with over $440 million in volume over the past day.
Almost all centralized crypto exchanges have been hit with a wave of withdrawals amid the collapse of FTX. In contrast, interest in decentralized alternatives has reached record levels, with decentralized exchanges seeing the highest trading volumes over the past couple of days.
Meanwhile, Binance CEO CZ has indirectly hinted that Kraken might be facing issues as it has resorted to layoffs. "Beware of platforms that: 1, offer high APYs and/or 2. have layoffs," he said in a now-deleted tweet. "If you don't do risk management now,
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