Coinbase, a renowned crypto exchange firm, wants to close a huge part of its operations in Japan. This move is part of the exchange’s restructuring plan and effort to weather the crypto winter. Besides, Coinbase recently announced its plan to lay off 20% of its staff.
Coinbase Succumb To Crypto Winter Crisis In Japan
Speaking with BNN Bloomberg in a recent interview, Nana Murugesan, a Coinbase executive, said the company would halt its services in Japan.
“We have opted to scale back most of our activities in Japan. This resulted in the recent elimination of most positions inside our Japan firm,” Murugesan stated.
Meanwhile, the executive failed to provide more specifics about the latest decision. Last June, Coinbase slashed its workforce by 18% due to great uncertainty in the crypto market.
At the time, Brian Armstrong, the company’s CEO, said the firm had grown, and workers’ cost was on the high side. Armstrong added that the layoffs would help the company to reduce its expenses.
Huge Layoffs Continue In The Crypto Sector
Coinbase exchange is not the only crypto-based firm that laid off workers during the crypto winter in 2022. The crypto market has witnessed increased bearish pressure within the past 12 months.
Besides, the total valuation of the crypto market has been hovering below $900 billion after falling from $1 trillion in 2022. In 2021, the total crypto market valuation peaked at $3 trillion.
Since the crypto winter began, several firms have laid off some employees. On November 30th, Kraken exchange stated that it would drop 30% of its global staff due to the crypto winter.
According to the exchange, this was part of its plan to cut down its expenses and increase revenue. Interestingly, crypto exchanges like Bybit carried out two major layoffs last year.
On December 4th, the firm announced its second layoff to weather the crypto market storm. Bybit’s second layoff came after Ben Zhou, the CEO, revealed the company’s reorganization plan.
On January 6th, 2023, another centralized crypto exchange, Huobi, revealed its plans to lay off 20% of its employees, citing the harsh market situation.
On the flip side, few exchanges, such as Binance, are yet to announce any layoff. Despite the harsh market conditions, the exchange continues to recruit more employees.