(Reuters) – Digital Currency Group-owned Luno said on Wednesday it might cut 35% of its total workforce, the newest in a slew of corporations within the digital assets sector to scale back headcount to weather a slump within the cryptocurrency market.
“2022 has been an incredibly tough yr for the broader tech industry and specifically the crypto market,” Luno said in a press release, adding that its growth and revenue has been affected by the downturn.
Greater than a trillion dollars in value was worn out from the crypto sector last yr, with rising rates of interest exacerbating worries of an economic downturn. The crash led to high-profile bankruptcies of key industry players corresponding to crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network.
Still, the most important blow got here after major exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November. Its swift fall has sparked tough global regulatory scrutiny of how crypto firms hold funds and conduct business operations.
CNBC, which first reported the job cuts at Luno, said the reduction would impact greater than 330 employees out of about 960.
Last week, the lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection, owing creditors not less than $3.4 billion after being toppled by the crypto market rout.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Anil D’Silva)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
