Crypto.com cuts 20% jobs amid 'significant damage' to industry from FTX

Crypto exchange Crypto.com is cutting its global workforce by 20%, it said on Friday, as it navigates ongoing economic headwinds and "unforeseeable" industry events.

This is the second major layoff at the Singapore-headquartered Crypto.com, which cut 250 jobs in mid-last year -- though a report suggested that more than 2,000 people were either let go or left at their own will. The company did not say what roles were being eliminated in the new round of layoffs but blamed the collapse of FTX, whose misappropriation of customers' funds and bankruptcy "significantly damaged trust in the industry."

"We grew ambitiously at the start of 2022, building on our incredible momentum and aligning with the trajectory of the broader industry. That trajectory changed rapidly with a confluence of negative economic developments," Kris Marszalek (pictured above), co-founder and chief executive of Crypto.com, said in a blog post.

As with firms in other industries, crypto companies are aggressively undertaking major decisions to survive the downturn in the broader market, which has reversed much of the gains from the 13-year bull run. Coinbase cut about 20% of its workforce earlier this week in its second round of major layoffs at the firm. Kraken said in November that it plans to lay off 1,100 people, or 30% of its workforce.

Even then Crypto.com had a especially rough last year. The firm received some criticism for its cringey/overly enthusiastic Matt Damon ad; accidentally sent an Australian customer more than $10 million in a snafu and grappled with industry concerns over its financial health performance.

The firm received a vote of confidence from auditing firm Mazars, which said Crypto.com users' crypto assets were fully backed one-to-one. But days later, Mazars, which also audited Binance, said it had paused its work with crypto clients.

"The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macro economic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry. It’s for this reason, as we continue to focus on prudent financial management, we made the difficult but necessary decision to make additional reductions in order to position the company for long-term success," Marszalek added.