Huobi, Superrare and Genesis among companies announce job cuts

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Last year, many crypto giants were forced to downsize to cope with mounting losses. These layoffs appear to have trailed the digital asset industry well into 2023, with a handful of popular Web3 companies reporting layoffs over the past week.

Much to the relief of crypto investors and traders, 2023 has started off pretty well. Most of the cryptocurrencies in the top 100 list by market capitalization are in the green year-to-date (YTD), and the majority of these coins have even recorded double-digit gains. However, the cryptoverse is still reeling from the disasters of 2022. Last year, many crypto giants were forced to downsize to cope with mounting losses. These layoffs appear to have trailed the digital asset industry well into 2023, with a handful of popular Web3 companies reporting layoffs over the past week.

Follow us as we tell you more about these companies and their proposed layoffs.

Huobi wants a lean squad

Huobi, the eighth largest crypto exchange in the world, announced plans to downsize on January 6. According to reports, the exchange will lay off 20% of its employees in the coming months. This could result in the loss of jobs for up to 220 employees, as Huobi currently employs around 1,100 people.

According to reports, the job cut was communicated to employees through an internal memo. Huobi board member and Tron founder Justin Sun later announced the same to Reuters, calling the move “a structural adjustment made to keep the exchange lean through the ongoing crypto winter.”

The layoffs have not yet been implemented, with Huobi saying they will be spread over the first quarter of 2023. Rumors about Huobis’ insolvency issues and potential layoffs have been circulating for a few months now. Colin Wu, a prominent crypto journalist, also tweeted about canceled bonuses and reduced salaries towards the end of December 2022. However, while Sun initially denied these reports, Huobi officially announced the layoffs on Friday.

Around the same time the Huobis layoffs emerged, $85 million worth of cryptocurrencies also left the exchange. This is after insolvency fears caused clients to withdraw their funds from the exchange.

Genesis is back

A day before Huobi, popular crypto brokerage Genesis announced that it would be saying goodbye to 30% of its workforce. This decision would result in the loss of approximately 60 employees.

The company cited unprecedented challenges in the industry as the reason for the difficult decision, saying it was necessary to move our business forward. This is the second round of job cuts for Genesis after the company cut its workforce by 20% in August 2022. Additionally, Genesis CEO Michael Moro also resigned at the time.

SuperRare isn’t having a great time in 2023

SuperRare is a popular marketplace for buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is a well-known platform in the NFT space, competing closely with major NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible. However, since the NFT market fell more than 65% in the previous year, NFT markets are currently in a difficult situation. And the latest firm to face the biting cold is SuperRare.

John Crain, CEO of SuperRare Labs, announced that the company plans to lay off nearly 30% of its workforce. Crain said the move would help scale the business after over-hiring left it with excess labor.

He further mentioned that he takes full responsibility for the aggressive expansion of the company, accompanied by the over-hiring of employees, which has unfortunately led to this situation. At the same time, he tried to instill optimism by saying that the company was focusing on bigger and more innovative projects for Web3 and digital art, which would lead to more work opportunities for artists and creators.

Silvergate Bank cuts jobs and abandons blockchain-based project

On January 5, crypto-focused bank, Silvergate, announced that it would cut 40% of its workforce. Around 200 employees could lose their jobs due to the move and the company is also expected to scrap some of its plans, including a blockchain-based payment solution.

Silvergate has been reeling from the crypto winter. For example, the company’s shares fell 88% in 2022. Additionally, crypto deposits fell to $3.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, a sharp drop from the prior quarter, which saw deposits worth nearly $12 million. Like SuperRare, Silvergate also blamed the layoffs on rapid expansion. The company had acquired excess staff that it could not maintain given the economic realities facing the digital asset industry today.

Gate.io is also reportedly downsizing

According to Colin Wu, the same reporter who speculated on Huobi’s issues, crypto exchange Gate.io has also downsized. According to Wus’ January 6 tweet, the exchange may lay off 40-50% of its staff. He goes on to state that the employees will receive an additional month’s salary as compensation. While that information hasn’t been confirmed, Wu says Gate responded to his request for comment, calling the move a normal optimization.

Conclusion

There’s no denying that the cryptoverse is in bad shape right now. We have seen major companies such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken and others lay off staff over the past year and the trend has also spread in 2023. However, nothing lasts forever, and the global crypto community hopes that this phase will also pass in the coming months.

Crypto layoffs continue in 2023: Huobi, SuperRare and Genesis among companies announce job cuts

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