Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange platform, is to cut 950 jobs, about 20% of its global workforce.
© Reuters
Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and chief executive of Coinbase, insisted it was not undermining sanctions and stressed the company would follow the law.
The company has announced the third round of layoffs in a year as part of a restructuring plan.
The move follows the sharp downfall in the value of cryptocurrency and has been blamed on that as well as the slowing global economy.
The company chief executive and co-founder said the impact of bad actors in the industry had also hit Coinbase.
“In 2022, the crypto market trended downwards along with the broader macroeconomy. We also saw the fallout from unscrupulous actors in the industry, and there could still be further contagion,” Brian Armstrong said in a blog post on the company website.
Another cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, filed for bankruptcy, and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars of customer money.
The company’s fall has led to calls for tougher regulatory oversight.
FTX was not the only one to face hurdles, as crypto values fell over the year key players in the industry such as Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network were toppled.
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Costs of about $149m (£122.62m) to $163m (£134.14m) are to result from the company reordering, Coinbase said.
But Mr Armstrong was adamant his company and crypto are going nowhere.
“Coinbase is well capitalized, and crypto isn’t going anywhere. In fact, I believe recent events will ultimately end up benefiting Coinbase greatly,” his blog post said.
It is the third time in a year that jobs have been axed.
In November it cut more than 60 jobs in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams and slashed 1,100 jobs, equivalent to 18% of its workforce back in June.
Mr Armstrong said he could have cut more jobs at the time.
Some business areas will be closed and others will operate with fewer workers as part of the headcount reduction.
“We will be shutting down several projects where we have a lower probability of success. Affected teams will receive communication on this today,” Mr Armstrong said.
“Our other projects will continue to operate as normal, just with fewer people on the team.”