Crypto exchange Huobi to lay off 20% of its staff – Justin Sun

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SINGAPORE, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Crypto exchange Huobi plans to lay off around 20% of its staff, Tron founder Justin Sun told Reuters.

Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur who is also a member of Huobi’s global advisory board, said in a text message to Reuters that “structural adjustment” has not started and is expected to be completed by the first quarter.

In an internal memo to Huobi staff, Sun said Huobi had been like “a fire over the (crypto) winter” despite the deteriorating macro environment. He said the platform had welcomed an average of 20,000 new users over the past three months.

The layoffs come amid broader concerns over the reserves and solvency of various cryptocurrency exchanges and lenders following the collapse of FTX and a series of other bankruptcies last year. Cryptocurrency firm Genesis just cut 30% of its workforce in a second round of layoffs in less than six months.

Sun called the restructuring “short-term pains” that may eventually bring benefits to the exchange. The number of current Huobi employees was not immediately clear.

According to CoinMarketCap, the Huobi token peaked at $9.40 in late October, with a 24-hour volume then of $52.5 million. Its price on Friday was $4.50 and the volume dropped to $18.50 million.

Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Kim Coghill

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