Crypto Lending Company Blockfi Cuts Staff by 20%

On Monday, the cryptocurrency lending company Blockfi announced that “market conditions” have had a “negative impact” on the firm’s business and it will be laying off “roughly 20%” of its staff. The message written by Blockfi co-founders Zac Prince and Flori Marquez follows a slew of well known crypto firms cutting back employees due to the bear market.

Digital currency values are not that hot these days, and the crypto economy slipped below the $1 trillion region on June 13. The entire crypto economy shed more than 14% in USD value during the past 24 hours. Crypto prices have steadily dropped for weeks on end and Monday’s market rout was quite gruesome. The leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC) slid to a low of $22,600 on Monday, and a myriad of other alternative digital assets saw deeper losses. Amid the last few weeks of the crypto economy’s bear market downturn, digital currency companies have been laying off staff.

On June 13, Blockfi joined the slew of companies laying off workers, as it noted that roughly 20% of its staff would be let go. “We’ve been through several tough days at Blockfi in the past, but today is probably the hardest,” the Blockfi co-founders wrote. “Like many others in the tech industry, we have been impacted by the dramatic shift in macroeconomic conditions worldwide. We are in the gut-wrenching position of needing to reduce our headcount today. This is not a decision we take lightly and candidly is one that brings us great sadness.”

The message from Prince and Marquez adds:

We are reducing our headcount by roughly 20% and the reduction impacts every team at the company. This decision was driven by market conditions that have had a negative impact on our growth rate and a rigorous review of our strategic priorities.

Just recently, Bitso announced layoffs and Buenbit cut staff back as well. Furthermore, Coinbase revealed it had to “rescind a number of accepted offers,” and Gemini cut its staff by 10%. The crypto businesses Rain Financial and the Latin American crypto exchange 2TM have also cut employee counts.

On Monday, the Blockfi co-founders stressed that the decision was painful for Blockfi’s management. “Today is a painful day for Blockfi but more so for employees who we have to part ways with,” the blog post says. “We are doing everything in our power to treat all of our impacted colleagues with the empathy and compassion that they deserve.”

Despite the setback, Blockfi’s co-founders remarked that the company will be sticking around for a long time. “For our remaining 600+ colleagues and our clients, partners, and stakeholders who have supported us worldwide – we are steadfast in our commitment to ensure Blockfi is here for the long haul,” the co-founders said.

What do you think about Blockfi laying off 20% of its workforce due to the market conditions having a negative impact on the startup? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.