The cryptocurrency sector posted layoff numbers ranging from 8 to 13 times above average following the collapses of stablecoin Terra and exchange FTX, according to a recent CoinGecko study.
The study, released last week, found layoffs in the crypto industry in June were over 13 times higher than the average monthly rate. In that month, about 3,000 people lost their jobs, marking the "highest record in a single month" in 2022, according to CoinGecko.
In the prior month, May, stablecoin Terra had experienced a collapse.
CRYPTO.COM CUTS 20% OF STAFF, CITING ECONOMIC HURDLES AND FTX COLLAPSE
The rate of crypto headcount reductions also spiked in November, when some 1,800 were laid off, according to the CoinGecko study. That month equated to roughly eight times higher than the average.
FTX, once one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges and valued at $32 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November and has been unwinding even as founder Sam Bankman-Fried awaits trial on fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges along with campaign finance violations to which he has pleaded not guilty.
FTX SEEKING RETURN OF SAM BANKMAN-FRIED'S POLITICAL DONATIONS
The study found crypto layoffs rose to 12.5 times the average in January. In the month, about 2,800 occurred. January’s crypto layoffs "represents 41% of the industry’s layoffs for the entire 2022," according to CoinGecko.
There was a slight lull in crypto layoffs in December, though the rate, at about 650 cuts, remained elevated, the study noted.
LAYOFFS 2023: TECH COMPANIES LEAD JOB CUTS AMID ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY
The percentage that crypto job cuts make up of the tech layoffs in 2023 is currently on par with the share they represented last year, according to CoinGecko. They constitute about 4% of tech reductions, similar to the 4.3% they were in 2022.
Companies in the crypto industry that have announced layoffs in recent months include Luno and Crypto.com.
CoinGecko said the study used Layoffs.fyi and public reports for its data, which spanned February 2022 to last month.
Over the course of 2022, over 159,700 tech employees around the world lost their jobs in layoffs, according to Layoffs.fyi. The site found tech companies have cut over 94,800 workers globally to date in 2023 as of Monday.
