Gemini, a first for the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange and custodian are cutting off 10% of the workforce as claimed by Billionaire bitcoiners Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
On Thursday morning, The twins announced in a blog post that the industry is going through a “contraction phase” known as “crypto winter,” which has been “further compounded by the current macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil.”
Recently, fellow crypto exchange Coinbase reported that revenue had fallen 27% from a year ago, as had overall usage.
Gemini has been around since 2014 and is valued at $7.1 billion as of its last funding round. It has 1,033 people on its payroll, according to PitchBook, which means about 100 employees affected by today’s layoffs.
To protect employee privacy, Gemini has closed its physical offices today. A calendar invite will be sent to affected team members for individual conversations about separation packages and health care benefits. The remaining employees will take part in a “company-wide standup” on Friday to talk about its future.
According to memo, Gemini wishes to focus only on products that are critical to its mission and team leaders will determine whether their teams are “right-sized” for the “current, turbulent market conditions that are likely to persist for some time.”
“Today is a tough day, but one that will make Gemini better over the long run,” the brothers wrote in the memo.
Other fintech start-ups such as Robinhood and BitMEX have recently cut staff.
Venture capitalists continue to pour money into the crypto ecosystem despite crypto companies scaling down their rosters. Recently, Andreessen Horowitz announced the launch of a new fund dedicated to backing crypto and blockchain companies worth $4.5 billion. Binance Labs (the company’s venture arm) has raised $500 million for a fund dedicated to investing in Web3 start-ups.
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