Crypto appears to be in the depths of its winter season, and many projects are feeling the cold. Coinbase, one of the flagships of the industry, is pulling in its horns and has stopped new hires. It has even gone as far as rescinding some of its most recent hires.
It was only just over a year ago when Coinbase became the darling representative of the crypto sector on Wall Street as its IPO exceeded all expectations.
On its first day of trading, the crypto flagship reached a valuation of more than $80 billion. The event was dubbed a “landmark moment” for the entire crypto industry by the New York Times.
However, it appears that this was the high-water mark for Coinbase, and except for a rally in October to November last year, its share price has gone from a $430 high to its present price of $66. The price went as low as $41 last month.
It was two weeks ago that Coinbase announced that it would begin to slow down on hiring due to volatility in the market. Now, as of Friday, the company added to its previous announcement by stating that it would continue its hiring freeze indefinitely, and in addition, would even rescind some of the offers it had recently made.
According to an article on Entrepreneur.com, L.J Brook, chief people officer of Coinbase, wrote the following to employees of the company:
“As we manage through this downturn, we want to be transparent about the decisions we have to make in order to meaningfully manage expenses,”
He added:
“While we did not make this decision lightly, it is the prudent one given market conditions. We will continue to evaluate all of our options to responsibly navigate Coinbase through the current cycle. We always knew crypto would be volatile, but that volatility alongside larger economic factors may test the company, and us personally, in new ways”
Coinbase isn’t alone in having to tighten its belt. Gemini announced on Thursday that it would have to reduce its workforce by 10%, citing the “crypto winter” as its reason for doing so. Gemini told its employees:
“As painful as this moment is, we ultimately see it as an opportunity to double-down on our strongest ideas and customer-centric products so that we may be the catalyst of innovation coming out of these leaner times that will help fuel the next cycle of crypto growth and adoption,”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
