Crypto Exchange Banxa Cuts Workforce By 30% As Layoffs Continue

Summary:

• Banxa CEO Holger Arians informed employees of the slash via email on Monday.
• Around 70 staff are set to lose their jobs including European Managing Director Jan Lorenc.
• Arians noted the company has felt the impact of the current market slump and expects the bear cycle could last another 12 months at least.
• The platform recorded dwindling trading volumes and its market cap dropped by almost half its value following the massive dip in crypto prices.
• A number of companies have dialed back on hiring and announced workforce reductions amid the current market conditions.
• Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Gemini have all slashed their employee counts.

Banxa is the latest crypto exchange to announce staff cuts as companies gear up for a crypto winter and U.S. recession. According to the Australian Financial Review

(AFR), the platform decided to lay off around 70 employees, about 30% of its current workforce.

Similar to most crypto exchanges, the publicly listed Australian digital asset operator supposedly experienced a period of hyper-growth during the last bull cycle. Employee headcount hit 230 per AFR’s reporting.

However, a market downturn and inflation in the U.S. economy have forced Banxa to reassess its position and restructure operations in a bid to survive the crypto winter.

CEO Holger Arians noted the sharp turnaround in macro factors impacted Banxa’s ability to maintain employee costs. Arians said the exchange has opted to prioritize revenue-generating channels instead.

Arians also highlighted reduced trading volumes and a blow to the company’s market cap which “halved in a matter of days”.

Banxa, Coinbase, And Other Crypto Exchanges Downsize

So far, Banxa and about 10 other exchanges including Coinbase have introduced staff cuts as a means to manage resources. Most of these firms have cited downturns in the crypto market and other macro conditions as the reasons behind decisions to downsize. 

Crypto giants Binance, FTX, and Kraken seem unaffected by the market slump and might not partake in the mass layoffs spreading through the crypto ecosystem.