Crypto exchange Kraken is laying off 1100 people - a third of its workforce - in a bid to weather the crypto winter.
Kraken has grown fast over the bull market that sent crypto prices soaring at the turn of the year, more than tripling its workforce to cope with market demand.
"This reduction takes our team size back to where it was only 12 months ago," says the company in a blog post. "Since the start of this year, macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have weighed on financial markets. This resulted in significantly lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups. We responded by slowing hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments. Unfortunately, negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand."
The lay-offs at Kraken, the wold's fourth largest crypto exchange by trading volume, represent a remarkable turnaround for the firm, which in June said it was not planning any staff reductions and would move ahead with hiring. At the time, the firm remarked in a fit of hubris: "We believe bear markets are fantastic at weeding out the applicants chasing hype from the true believers in our mission."
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