Crypto exchange Gemini to slash 10% of workforce: Reports

Even if the cryptocurrency market is currently experiencing a relief rally, worrying news keeps coming out. Amid the mass layoff trend among tech giants, Crypto exchange Gemini has decided to cut off its employee headcount by 10 per cent, CNBC reported citing a spokesperson aware of the matter. In the period of less than a year, Gemini has undergone at least three rounds of layoffs, and unlike many of its competitors, it is vulnerable to New York banking regulation. The employee count of Gemini was around 1,000 as of November 2022. However, Pitchbook revealed that as many as 100 employees lost their jobs. As reported by TechCrunch, Gemini reduced the number of its employees by 7 per cent in July last year. A month before, it forced 10 per cent of its staff to part ways with the firm. However, Gemini President Cameron Winklevoss revealed in an internet message sent to The Information that the company was expecting to avoid layoffs after this summer, but it was not possible to do so. “Although persistently unfavourable macroeconomic conditions and massive fraud committed by unethical people in our field have forced us to change our outlook and further reduce staff,” he said. Since 11 November, when Sam Bankman-cryptocurrency Fried’s exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, several cryptocurrency companies like Crypto.com, Coinbase, Kraken, and Genesis have laid off workers. In an effort to maintain liquidity during the downturn in the cryptocurrency market, Coinbase downsized 20 per cent of its workforce in January. In recent weeks, Gemini has been embroiled in a controversy over consumer payments. In line with its collaboration with Barry Silbert’s insolvent firm, Genesis, the exchange is also involved in a legal dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission over an alleged unregistered offer and sale of securities. Gemini and Silbert’s Genesis Trading, a crypto lending company that produced substantial profits for the Winklevoss brothers’ clients through Gemini’s high-yield loan product known as Gemini Earn, have been engaged in a bitter dispute. Following this, Genesis discontinued lending and repaying, leaving Gemini customers short by over $900 million. The series of failures compelled the Gemini Earn product to immediately follow suit and impose a brief suspension of its own. The frustration level among Gemini’s 340,000 consumers has risen over the months after the Earn product was terminated. A group of individuals united to file a class action lawsuit against the exchange. On 19 January, Genesis submitted a bankruptcy petition. The top 50 largest unsecured creditors are included in the filing, with Gemini’s dues at $765.9 million, more than $300 million above the next creditor. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.