Kraken crypto exchange fires 30% of its staff

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Key Takeaways:

  • Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, is firing 1,100 employees, or about 30% of its workforce, in an effort to adjust to the current market fluctuation.
  • Kraken announced that it will stretch the relevant staff’ vesting window and provide 16 weeks of compensation as severance.

The cryptocurrency industry is still experiencing widespread job cuts and the exchange which is the latest casualty of the current Crypto Winter is Kraken with almost one-third of its staff being cut off.

As a significant consequence of the current crypto winter, a bear market that has destroyed major businesses and thousands of jobs worldwide, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell has announced that approximately 30% of the company will be fired.

The announcement comes just a day after the US Treasury Department revealed that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has agreed to pay more than $362,000 to settle allegations that it violated US sanctions against Iran.

Macroeconomic and geostrategic variables, according to the CEO’s letter on Wednesday, have decreased trading volumes and new client sign-ups. Powell pointed out that the company had lately tripled in size and that all other cost-cutting measures had been tried.

According to Powell, “this reduction returns our team size to where it was just a year ago.”

More specifically, it was contended that Kraken reacted by reducing hiring initiatives and limiting significant marketing commitments. Sadly, destructive forces on the capital markets have persisted, and they have run out of better ways to align prices with demand.

Powell expressed confidence in the company’s plan, saying, “I’m confident the steps we are taking today will ensure we can continue to deliver on our mission, which the world needs now more than ever before.” Powell is still very bullish on cryptocurrencies and Kraken.

As other businesses were busy saying goodbyes to their workforce , Kraken said it was aiming to increase as recently as June and that it wanted to hire an additional 500 people. At that time, it stated, “We have not changed our hiring plan, and we do not intend to make any layoffs.”

Powell, the co-founder of Kraken who previously confirmed that he would be stepping down as CEO, developed a solid public image in the cryptocurrency community as a compassionate employer who firmly believed in the fundamental principles of cryptocurrency.

In a recent thread on Twitter, Powell criticised US legislators and regulators, claiming that they do  share some of the blame for the market’s bleak state right now.

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Aadrika Sharma
Aadrika Sharma

I enjoy writing and try to learn new things every passing day!

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