Binance.US Cuts 100 Jobs and CEO Departs Amid Regulatory Scrutiny
Binance.US, the US-based branch of the cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly laid off approximately one-third of its workforce, or 100 employees, and its CEO Brian Shroder has also left the company. According to a Binance.US spokesperson cited by Bloomberg on September 13, Shroder was temporarily replaced by Chief Legal Officer Norman Reed.
CoinDesk Has Laid Off Staff This Week, and the List Includes Journalists Who Won Polk Journalism Awards for FTX News
August 18th, Marc Hochstein, the event planner for CoinDesk, revealed on his social media platform that CoinDesk had carried out layoffs this week. The list of layoffs includes Tracy Wang, who won the Polk News Award for reporting on the FTX explosion news and the "luxurious lifestyle of the SBF internal circle," as well as other editors and reporters.
Fusion Bank, a Virtual Bank in Hong Kong, Laid Off Employees, and Some Positions Were Replaced by WeBank Employees
On August 17th, according to reports from Trust News, Fusion Bank, a Hong Kong virtual bank in which Tencent has a stake, announced layoffs after changing its CEO last month. It is reported that about 20 employees have been laid off, with some positions being replaced by employees from Tencent's WeBank and some IT staff being asked to become contract workers.
Discord Cuts 4% of Workforce in Company Restructuring
Chat app Discord has let go of nearly 40 employees, which represents 4% of its workforce, as part of the company's restructuring efforts. The job cuts have affected people in marketing, design, and entertainment partnership teams. Several former employees took to social media to announce that they were impacted by the layoffs.
KuCoin Clarifies Reports of Layoffs, Claims They are Routine Performance Appraisals
KuCoin, a crypto exchange, has denied reports that it plans to lay off over 300 staff, stating that they are "routine performance appraisals." The bear market has led to significant layoffs in the crypto industry, particularly among exchanges, as companies seek to cut costs and maintain lean teams. Chinese reporter Colin Wu initially claimed that the layoffs at KuCoin were due to a recent decline in profits resulting from stricter KYC rules, but the exchange has since clarified that they are simply performance appraisals. Other crypto exchanges, including Binance, have also reportedly conducted significant layoffs in recent times.
Solana-Based ATMTA's Star Atlas Announces Restructuring and Staff Cut
ATMTA, the studio developing Solana-based blockchain game Star Atlas, said it will undergo a major reorganization of its operations, Crypto Briefing reported. The company's CEO said that only a core team of 45 people will remain after the layoffs, downsizing by more than 80 percent from 235 at the end of 2022. This round of layoffs is intended to maintain ATMTA's long-term development program, after the company's workforce was previously downsized to 167 in the wake of the FTX debacle.
Cameo, Celebrity Video Greeting Website, to Lay Off 80 Workers in Latest Downsizing Move
Cameo, a website that allows users to order personalized video greetings from celebrities, is planning to lay off 80 employees. The Chicago-based startup, which was valued at over $1 billion in 2021, will reportedly have less than 50 employees after the layoffs. This is the second round of layoffs for Cameo, which let go of 87 workers in May 2022. CEO Steven Galanis cited economic conditions as the reason for the downsizing and stated that the company will focus on a more streamlined team.
Binance CEO Confirms Layoffs, Denies Media Reports of Over 1,000 Employees Being Let Go
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has confirmed that the exchange is laying off staff, but denies that the numbers reported in the media are accurate. In a tweet, Zhao stated that involuntary terminations are a common occurrence in every company.
Adam Cochran: Binance has told Internal Teams to stop Hiring, further Layoffs Expected
Adam Cochran, tweeted, citing a document from the media outlet Protos, that for the 1,000 employees who were laid off, Binance didn't notify them or their managers, but instead were laid off immediately. Some were told to sign an NDA non-disclosure agreement in return for a small payment, while others were given nothing.
Binance CEO Laughs Off Reports of More Than 1,000 Layoffs at Top Crypto Exchange
Binance, a top global crypto exchange, has reportedly laid off over 1,000 employees in recent weeks. The company's CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has responded to the news with a laughing emoji, claiming that the reported number of layoffs is "way off."
