According to Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs, the Web3 platform has laid off additional workers partly because it had “lost its way.” Solano also encouraged employees uninterested in the next phase to consider accepting the same severance package offered to those affected by the layoffs. Convoluted Corporate Processes Yuga Labs, the Web3 platform behind […]
Bitcoin News
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Layoffs Rumors: ‘Another Day, Another FUD’
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has answered the rumors of mass layoffs at Binance, with reports stating that up to 20% of the current workforce of the exchange might be forced to abandon their positions due to poor market conditions. Zhao declared this was another attempt at spreading FUD on Binance, explaining that the company has a constant “bottom-out policy.”
Changpeng Zhao Calls Layoff Reports ‘FUD’
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, has answered the rumors about mass layoffs on the exchange. According to Colin Wu, a Chinese cryptocurrency reporter, Binance had plans for laying off a significant part of its workforce, stating that market rumors indicated that at least 20% of the 8,000 employees on Binance could be involved in these layoffs due to poor overall market conditions.
Wu explained employees would be compensated on a case-by-case basis, depending on their situation and place in the company.
Through social networks, Zhao informed that layoffs in Binance were nothing new, clarifying that the exchange had a “bottom out” policy that laid off employees qualified as “not strong fits” for the company. He referred to these rumors as “FUD.”
Zhao further expanded on this topic, stating:
Many of them are great people or high performers, but may not fit our unique culture/situation. Small example, WFH [work from home] is not for everyone.
Zhao remarked the layoffs program was constant in the company, happening every week and not having any number restrictions attached to it.
Binance Maintains Profitability, Keeps Hiring
Binance is one of the largest exchanges by trading volumes in the cryptocurrency market, hosting more than 92% of the Bitcoin spot trading by the end of 2022.
Zhao detailed the different ways in which Binance has dealt with market conditions before, stating:
I also push for cost cutting, servers, flights, meals, etc, every week too. This may be why … Binance has stay profitable since month 4 of our inception. From Oct 2017 onwards, through 2 crypto winters, Binance maintained profitability on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Zhao also remarked that Binance keeps hiring. The Binance careers portal, which indicates the job openings at the company, has more than 300 positions open in different areas of work.
Last year, in the middle of the so-called crypto winter, Zhao announced that the exchange was hiring for 2,000 roles, while other crypto companies like Coinbase and Kraken were involved in thousands of layoffs.
What do you think about Binance and the staff mass layoff rumors? Tell us in the comments section below.
Latam Insights — Steve Hanke Advocates Dollarization in Argentina, Bitcoin City Plans Unclear in El Salvador, Sunacrip Implicated in Venezuela Layoffs
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, economist Steve Hanke calls to dollarize Argentina, Bitcoin City plans are still not formalized in El Salvador, and Venezuelan crypto watchdog Sunacrip is allegedly involved in mass layoffs.
Steve Hanke Proposes to Dollarize Argentina
Steve Hanke, economist and professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, has favored the proposal of dollarizing the Argentine economy in order to put order to the financial crisis of the country.
In a tweet issued on April 25, Hanke stated:
By my measure, the Argentinian peso has depreciated against the USD by 52% since Jan 1, 2022. Argentina must dump the peso and dollarize now.
Hanke’s proposal coincides with what Javier Milei, one of the strongest presidential candidates according to polls, is presenting in his campaign plans, considering ditching the Argentine peso and adopting the U.S. dollar as a solution to the inflation and devaluation escalade that the country is facing. Hanke also criticized the country’s debt with the International Money Fund (IMF).
Bitcoin City Plans Still Not Registered In El Salvador
Formal plans for Bitcoin City, the cryptocurrency-focused city that would be built in El Salvador in part with funds coming from the still unreleased “Volcano bonds,” have still not reached public institutions in El Salvador. A document posted to social media on April 26 shows that the Public Works Ministry has no project with the Bitcoin City name, an initiative that was presented by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on November 2021.
However, the “Escape to El Salvador” team, an organization that promotes moving to the country, clarified that these plans were still not introduced to the Public Works Ministry, but that the project was still ongoing.
Venezuelan Cryptocurrency Watchdog Lays Off Hundreds of Workers
Sunacrip, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog, has fired more than 400 workers this week, according to local sources. The crypto superintendence had a payroll of 600 workers, that are being affected by the current cryptocurrency-related corruption probe. The former head of Sunacrip, Joselit Ramirez, is currently under arrest for his alleged involvement in the so-called PDVSA-crypto corruption scheme.
The institution was intervened by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on March 17, who named a commission to review the actions of the institution, but there have been no reports about if the organization will be terminated, or if it will continue with another organizational structure.
What do you think about the developments in Latin America this week? Tell us in the comment section below.
Meta Announces 10,000 Layoffs in ‘Year of Efficiency’ Move; Singles Out AI Over Metaverse as ‘Largest Investment’
Meta, the social media company, will continue to shed part of its workforce, recently announcing 10,000 new layoffs to be executed during 2023 as part of its new efficiency policy. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company, stated that artificial intelligence (AI) was currently the company’s most prominent investment, even over the metaverse.
Meta Announces 10,000 Layoffs, Striving to Achieve Sustainability
Meta, the parent company of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, has announced a new set of moves as part of its “year of efficiency” policy. In a Facebook post, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new round of 10,000 layoffs, which will be executed during the remainder of 2023. Furthermore, he stated that 5,000 open hiring spots will be closed.
Zuckerberg explained that these layoffs were the consequence of the new economic configuration that the U.S. and the world are currently facing. In this sense, Zuckerberg declared:
Higher interest rates lead to the economy running leaner, more geopolitical instability leads to more volatility, and increased regulation leads to slower growth and increased costs of innovation. Given this outlook, we’ll need to operate more efficiently than our previous headcount reduction to ensure success.
However, Zuckerberg remarks that the company is working on a plan to keep investing in future developments while maintaining sustainability for the company in the short term.
This movement was anticipated in February, with reports hinting at the execution of a new round of layoffs due to the delay in the finalization of internal budgets. Meta laid off 13% of its staff in November last year, announcing a cultural shift in the company and citing macroeconomic conditions as the cause of the measure.
Closer to AI Than to the Metaverse
While Zuckerberg mentions the metaverse as part of the key tech to the company in his blog post, stating that it serves “to deliver a realistic sense of presence” and that it “remains central to defining the future of social connection,” he disclosed Meta is currently also putting funds behind other emergent fields.
As part of an explanation of how the company is conducting business internally, Zuckerberg commented:
Our single largest investment is in advancing AI and building it into every one of our products. We have the infrastructure to do this at unprecedented scale and I think the experiences it enables will be amazing.
What do you think about the new round of layoffs announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg? Tell us in the comments section below.
Meta Reportedly Preparing for a New Round of Layoffs
Meta, the company that owns Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook, is reportedly preparing to announce a new round of layoffs in the coming days. According to reports, the company is delaying the finalization of the budget for each one of its teams, causing operational delays and affecting the output of employees of the company.
Meta to Lay Off More Staff
Meta, the social media company, may be looking to trim more of its workforce in the near future. According to reports from Financial Times, the company has not finalized the budgets for its internal teams, meaning that some of them will be affected by a new round of layoffs.
This situation has caused managers of each division to be unable to plan ahead for the needed activities, disrupting operational output, and even affecting projects in critical areas such as the metaverse and advertising, which are now taking more time to be solved.
The move, which is currently called “the flattening” internally, is also affecting the morale of the employees, who criticized how the vision for the “year of efficiency,” a term used by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to describe the goals of the company for 2023, is being executed. One employee stated:
Honestly, it’s still a mess. The year of efficiency is kicking off with a bunch of people getting paid to do nothing.
One of the key employees of the metaverse and virtual reality (VR) division of the company, John Carmack, left Meta in December due to operational inefficiencies despite the headcount of the company. “I think our organization is operating at half the effectiveness that would make me happy,” he stated at that time.
Layoffs and Restructuring
If made official, this new round of layoffs would be the second Meta announced in less than a year. The company already executed a trim that put 11,000 employees, representing 13% of the total headcount of Meta, out of the company. But Meta’s moves go beyond that.
The company is now targeting middle management employees, who are being asked to step down to non-management roles, or abandon the company, according to the same reports.
Despite all of these cost-cutting measures, the company has declared that the metaverse is still one of its main focuses in the long term and that it will continue to invest in this area. As part of its Q4 2022 earnings call, Meta CFO Susan Li explained that they were still expecting more losses in metaverse operations for 2023.
Other tech companies, like Microsoft, have also announced layoffs as part of their restructuring processes, in order to adapt to the new market situation after the coronavirus pandemic.
What do you think about reports of a new round of layoffs at Meta? Tell us in the comments section below.
Filecoin Creator Protocol Labs Announces Layoffs Amid Crypto Winter and Economic Downturn
Protocol Labs CEO Juan Benet published a blog post on Friday announcing that 21% of the company’s staff will be laid off. Protocol Labs is the creator of the blockchain network Filecoin. Benet emphasized in the blog post that it has been an “extremely challenging economic downturn, worldwide, and especially in the crypto industry.”
Protocol Labs Cuts Jobs in Response to Macro Winter and Crypto Market Decline
Protocol Labs, the company behind the file storage blockchain network Filecoin, announced on Feb. 3 that it will lay off a number of employees. CEO Juan Benet wrote a blog post, titled “Focusing Our Strategy to Weather Crypto Winter,” to explain the layoffs. He cited the “extremely challenging economic downturn” as hitting the crypto industry particularly hard. “The macro winter worsened crypto winter, making it more extreme and potentially longer than our industry expected,” Benet wrote.
“Although we worked extremely hard to avoid this, we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 89 roles (approximately 21%),” the blog post details. “This impacts individuals across PLGO teams (PL Corp, PL Member Services, Network Goods, PL Outercore, and PL Starfleet). We’ve had to focus our headcount against the most impactful and business critical efforts.”
Protocol Labs has joined the list of crypto industry businesses that have laid off employees during the “crypto winter.” Other cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused companies, such as Candy Digital, Blockchain.com, Opensea, Huobi, and Gemini, have also cut staff. The industry-wide layoffs began to pick up momentum last year and have continued into 2023. In his Friday blog post, Benet noted that the “changes will be tough for all Labbers” and the company will host a “PLGO All Hands” meeting on Monday to answer any remaining questions.
Filecoin’s native cryptocurrency, FIL, is currently ranked #35 in the crypto economy based on market capitalization. As of Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, filecoin’s (FIL) market valuation was approximately .11 billion, with global trade volume of about 6 million in the last 24 hours. FIL has gained 65.7% against the U.S. dollar in the past 30 days and outperformed leading cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH). Despite the 65.7% increase, FIL is still down more than 97% from its all-time high of 6 per coin, which was reached on April 1, 2021. At 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 4, 2023, FIL was trading for .59 per unit.
What are your thoughts on the layoffs at Protocol Labs and across the cryptocurrency industry? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Bit.com Plans to Double Workforce as Layoffs Mount in Crypto and Financial Markets
The crypto markets are going through a rough phase. Bitcoin has crashed more than 70% in 8 months. Amidst the crash, several companies are laying off their employees, desperately trying to save cash.
However, not all companies are facing the hammer of fate. Bit.com, the second-largest crypto options exchange, seeks to double its workforce amidst layoffs. But why?
Let’s explore.
The Crypto Recession
Crypto winter is frequently used in the cryptocurrency, DeFi and blockchain industry to denote the current recession that has hit the industry after it made phenomenal gains in 2021. The global economic condition, post-COVID economic losses and record inflation worldwide have led to mass layoffs in the industry.
Coinbase recently trimmed off 18% of its employees to save cash. BlockFi announced the layoff of 400 employees. Crypto.com also wants to lay off a similar number of employees.
However, these layoffs also bring an opportunity to hire some of the best minds in the industry. These are talented people suffering at the hands of fate.
Bit.com is a full-suite cryptocurrency exchange offering spot, futures, perpetual contracts, options and savings. They are one of the top 3 exchanges for cryptocurrency options . The exchange is launched by Matrixport, which is already a Unicorn With a B Valuation in 2021. The exchange has its core principles built around security and risk management features. A top-grade firm, Cactus Custody, handles its security. Jihan Wu founded Matrixport in 2019 and the mining rig manufacturer Bitmain.
Recently they have announced to launch USD options within the next few months as a part of their service portfolio.
Bit.com hiring amid layoffs
Bit.com is hiring because it is a golden opportunity.
With so many qualified personnel joining the talent pool and ready to get hired at a moment’s notice, it is a dream come true for many. For example, several exchanges will be desperate to hire Coinbase employees. The reputation gives them a distinct advantage.
Bit.com is taking the maximum benefit of this opportunity by hiring the best talents available in the industry. As per media reports, they are seeking to double their workforce, with a majority of the new hires to be engineers. Undoubtedly this workforce will have a majority of highly skilled employees hired at reasonable salary packages due to the ongoing market crisis.
“We have experienced the ups and downs, and we also committed to the potential future. Crypto enthusiasts and experienced talents are welcome to join Bit.com” said Lan Yue, COO of Bit.com.
A drawback of such hiring could temporarily affect the company’s finances. But we can safely assume that the executives have thought about this before going on such a hiring spree.
As claimed by Lan: ”Bit.com has been hiring and growing aggressively since the beginning of 2022. The recent collapse of the market has no direct impact on our original runway, we have the capacity to stick to our developing and hiring plan. Bear market may bring our users negative sentiment, it also brings us time to strenghten our product and risk management for the next bull market”
A few benefits that they might derive from this hiring are, for example, that they can choose from a large, diverse talent pool. Also, they will get experienced candidates from top competitors that are difficult to get otherwise. Lastly, employees could join immediately without any notice or waiting period. Which will give Bit.com a fast push in its talent strategy.
However, this could also backfire in several ways, starting from putting stress on finances. There is severe uncertainty in the US economy, a major source of capital funding for cryptocurrencies and a major market. Further, several jurisdictions have a severe regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency companies, including high taxation (30% in India) while European countries seek a ban on the proof-of-work system. All of this, combined with high inflation, is expected to affect the buying capacity of crypto investors and traders.
Conclusion
The world’s economic downturn has also had a bad effect on the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. With layoffs and cost-cutting from several big crypto companies, there is an opportunity for many companies like Bit.com to hire in good numbers. If this activity goes well with hiring, they could highly benefit from having top-of-the-line professionals in their company.
Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin Loses $7k, Blockchain Layoffs, Ethereum DeFi Explodes
Another week, another round of Crypto Tidbits. Bitcoin has effectively been flat on the week, recently returning to around where it started the week after briefly interacting with the ever-important ,400 resistance. Altcoins, interestingly, came into their own this week, with Ethereum, Link, Tezos, EOS, among other top altcoins posting double-digit percentage gains in the past seven days.
Bitcoin’s stagnation over the past week comes as the stock market has mounted a strong comeback, with the S&P 500 rallying 12% from last Friday’s close to Thursday’s close despite 6.6 million new unemployment claims in the U.S. and the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Despite the non-action, analysts are still bullish on BTC and the rest of the cryptocurrency market. In fact, as reported by NewsBTC previously, BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes said that while he could see Bitcoin revisiting ,000, his year-end price target “remains ,000,” which is 180% above the current price.
As to why he thinks this is the case, he cited that the monetary and fiscal solutions that governments and central banks are enlisting to stave off precision:
“Everyone knows the shift is upon us, that is why central bankers and politicians will throw all of their tools at this problem. And I will reiterate, that is inflationary because more fiat money will chase a flat to declining supply of real goods and labour. There are only two things to own during the transition to whatever the new system is and that is gold and bitcoin.”
Related Reading: Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin At ,000, FATF Regulation, Coinbase Backs Ethereum DeFi
Bitcoin & Crypto Tidbits
Crypto Industry Sees Layoffs: The Bitcoin community and broader crypto space have not been spared in the recent economic carnage. According to a “100% user-generated” list of companies on recruiting/job site Candor, Bitcoin.com, crypto mining firm Bitfarms, and mining hardware manufacturer Bitfury are among the firms in this industry that have begun to lay off staff over the past few weeks. Outside of this, one of the original crypto companies, Factom, has purportedly gone into liquidation, despite securing millions of dollars worth of funding over the past five years and garnering a grant from the U.S. Energy Department.
Ethereum DeFi Has Seen Stellar Growth: In a report published April 9th, blockchain analytics site DappReview revealed that transaction volume across Ethereum-based DeFi projects has increased by nearly 800% when comparing Q1 2020’s metrics to that of Q1 2019. Much of this growth was attributed to projects like Maker and Compound — which offer decentralized loans and stablecoin solutions — and derivatives providers like Synthetix and Augur. This growth comes as crypto upstart Thesis and other partners are soon to release tBTC — a project that will act as a decentralized representation of Bitcoin on the Ethereum blockchain. Analysts expect for the launch of this project to boost DeFi adoption, with both ETH and BTC holders
Bitcoin Cash & Bitcoin SV See Block Reward Halvings: Both Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV have seen their block reward halvings pass in the past 72 hours. As a result, both networks saw their hash rates and difficulty drop. The halving resulted in an instant 50% reduction in mining revenues for those operating on the BCH and BSV chain, forcing operators running on tight margins to turn off their machines or mine on other networks. Fewer machines mean fewer computers processing blocks, resulting in slower transactions.
South Korea Launches Digital Currency Project: On Monday, South Korea’s central bank, the Bank of Korea, revealed that it has launched a pilot program for testing a digital won, which is slated to run to December 2021. A release outlining this move said the program will determine if there are a legal case and ample technical capability to launch a digital currency in South Korea. This comes just six weeks after the South Korean National Assembly passed legislation that will provide a comprehensive framework for the regulation and legalization of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin exchanges.
Twitter CEO & Bitcoin Bull Jack Dorsey Pledges Billion to COVID-19 Relief: Jack Dorsey announced in a Twitter thread this week that Yesterday, Dorsey announced in a Twitter thread — it’s quite fitting, I must say — that he will be “moving billion of my Square equity,” which purportedly corresponds with around 28% of his total wealth, to a LLC called “Start Small” to “fund global COVID-19 relief.” Start Small existed prior to this outbreak, but this is the first time it has seen mainstream attention. The Bitcoin bull intends to allocate the rest of the donation to the promotion of Universal Basic Income and girl’s health and education, calling both issues critical.
Fidelity Sees Growth In Crypto Demand: Fidelity Digital Assets — the crypto services division of Wall Street giant Fidelity Investments, a firm with trillions under management — has confirmed it has seen an uptick in interest. Speaking to Frank Chaparro of The Block, a spokeswoman for the firm said that:
“From a trading perspective, we continue to onboard new clients every month and are seeing significant pipeline growth. […] And in recent weeks, we’ve seen more momentum across our business.”
Photo by Sandro Katalina on Unsplash
NewsBTC
NEM Foundation, Nearly Broke, Plans Layoffs and Pivot
The leading non-profit behind the NEM blockchain is seeking .5 million in emergency funding to keep the lights on.
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NEM Foundation, on Brink of Bankruptcy, Plans Layoffs and Pivot
The leading non-profit behind the NEM blockchain is seeking .5 million in emergency funding to stave off bankruptcy.
CryptScout #BitFeed RSS – Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency News 24/7