🥾 Kraken Booting 30% of Workforce

The FTX drama brought along a lot of other companies struggling to stay afloat given market conditions. On Wednesday, the third largest crypto exchange by volume, Kraken, said that it would be laying off 30% of its global staff. Let’s take a closer look at the layoffs that are about to ensue.

• Kraken has experienced slowing growth which was prompted by “macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.” This has resulted in Kraken laying off 30% of its staff (around 1,100 people).
• Earlier this June, while other crypto companies laid off staff, Kraken mentioned they wanted to hire 500 people and said that they “[didn’t] expect to make any layoffs.”
• On the market conditions, Kraken said, “We responded by slowing hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments. Unfortunately, negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand.”
• Kraken is not simply leaving employees out to dry. They are offering 16 weeks of compensation as severance and will extend the affected employees’ exercise window.

Kraken laying off a major part of its workforce is the perfect example of unpredictability in the crypto space. This unpredictability should not be confused with doubt about crypto as a whole. Kraken CEO, Powell, said that he “[remains] extremely bullish on crypto and Kraken” further explaining that these efforts are to keep Kraken running most optimally.