Crypto Exchange Huobi to lay off 20% of its staff: report

[ad_1]

Crypto exchange Huobi is set to lay off 20% of its staff, according to sources reported by Reuters.

Justin Sun, a prominent crypto entrepreneur who joined the firm as an adviser in October 2022, had denied claims that the firm was due to downsize as recently as this week.

Sun told Chinese newspaper South China Morning Post that reports of the announced layoffs were false.

But news of alleged financial problems at Huobi has been circulating in recent weeks; it was reported last week by freelance crypto journalist Colin Wu that staff salaries were being paid in stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, which reportedly caused widespread outcry from employees.

Justin Sun HR communicates with all Huobi employees to change salary form from fiat currency to USDT/USDC; employees who cannot accept it can be made redundant. This decision sparked protests from some employees. Exclusive https://t.co/QB4sjDyHc7

Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 4, 2023

Decrypt has reached out to Huobi to comment on the reports and will update this story with its response.

According to data from CoinGecko, Huobi is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, with around $367 million in daily 24-hour volume and 12.5 million monthly visits.

These impressive figures come despite the fact that the stock exchange has not operated in the United States since 2019.

Layoffs in the crypto industry

Regardless of Huobi’s financial situation, the reported layoffs are not out of step with industry trends.

In July 2022, Coinbase announced that it would be laying off 18% of its 1,100 employees in preparation for an extended crypto winter.

At the end of November 2022, Kraken followed Coinbase’s decision by reducing its workforce by 30%, also around 1,100 of its employees.

In June, Crypto.com, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, laid off 260 employees, or 5% of its workforce, and reports that it unofficially laid off more were circulating in August.

More layoffs may be on the horizon; Binance CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao warned employees in an internal memo that he expects the next few months to be bumpy.

Stay up to date with crypto news, get daily updates in your inbox.

[ad_2]