- KuCoin has denied reports of reducing its workforce by 30% amid declining profits.
- The crypto exchange acknowledged that it was letting go of some employees as part of a routine adjustment.
- Colin Wu reported that KuCoin had been struggling after being sued by the New York Attorney General in March.
- The crypto exchange’s trading volume has reduced by over 50% since a strict KYC policy was enforced last week.
KuCoin has denied reports of mass layoffs after crypto journalist Colin Wu reported earlier today that the Seychelles-based crypto exchange was planning to let go of 30% of its workforce. The report comes a month after the exchange enforced mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) checks on its trading platform, which reportedly led to a decline in profits.
NY AG’s Lawsuit Against KuCoin Led To Decline In Profits
Citing three anonymous internal sources, Colin Wu reported that KuCoin is set to lay off 300 of its nearly 1000 employees. In March, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the crypto exchange, accusing it of violating securities laws by offering securities to users on its platform.
This was followed by the enforcement of mandatory KYC checks which took effect on July 15. According to Colin Wu, the lawsuit paired with the strict KYC policy led to a decline in KuCoin’s profits. This reportedly prompted the crypto exchange’s plan to lay off 30% of its employees.
However, the exchange denied the reports of mass layoffs and stated that it intended to make routine adjustments to its workforce as part of normal performance appraisal. “KuCoin is actively embracing compliance and focusing on core business development,” the exchange said in a statement to the crypto journalist.
Data from CoinGecko showed that the crypto exchange’s trading volume has declined by a whopping 73% following the lawsuit by the New York AG. As for this month, the trading volume declined by 54% since the KYC policy came into effect.