BlockFi To Axe ‘Roughly 20%’ of Workforce Amid Crypto Winter

Zac Prince, the CEO of crypto lending platform BlockFi, announced that the company is letting go of “roughly 20%” of its employees.

This morning we announced that after taking significant time to plan and consider, we are reducing our headcount by roughly 20%. This is not a decision we take lightly and is one that brings us great sadness.

— Zac Prince (@BlockFiZac) June 13, 2022

In a Twitter thread, Prince assures BlockFi users that the platform is “here for the long haul.” He stresses that despite the layoffs, BlockFi’s customer service will not change and that client funds are safe within the platform as offerings will continue “to operate normally.”

The CEO cites the change in macroeconomic conditions affected the company’s growth rate, similar to other tech companies that were impacted.

Notably, Singapore-based crypto exchange Crypto.com also revealed on June 13 that it was letting go of 260 employees, or 5% of its personnel. Much earlier, crypto firms Coinbase, Gemini Trust. Co., and Rain Financial announced similar layoffs and hiring freezes.

“As a result, our number one goal has been to achieve profitability so that we can extend our runway and control our destiny,” said the BlockFi CEO.

To achieve profitability, Prince reveals that the company has been managing costs, including reducing marketing spending, eliminating non-critical vendors, reducing the salary of executives, and slowing down hiring.

Amid the current market conditions, Prince asserts that BlockFi will remain committed to its clients and that the company will persevere.

While more crypto firms are struggling during shifting conditions — slowing down or freezing hiring — Binance is doubling down on manpower.

During the Consensus 2022 conference, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said they have “a very healthy war chest; we in fact are expanding hiring right now.” Zhao added that the company will leverage the crypto winter and is “kicking into high gear in terms of M&A activity.”

Speaking with Fortune, Binance Co-Founder Yi He stated:

We currently have more than 2,000 roles open from engineers, product, marketing to business development.

“The crypto space is still in its early stages, and bull markets tend to care more about price while bear markets have more value-conscious teams that continue to build the industry,” narrated Yi. “We see this as a great time to bring on top talent.”