New Delhi: Exchanging cryptocurrencies. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday that Binance slashed staff just days after being struck by a wave of executive departures.
With regulators aggressively cracking down on what they view as illegal operations, the industry’s future in the US market is unknown at the time of the layoffs at the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The Wall Street Journal first broke the news of the releases, reporting that more than 1000 individuals had been fired in recent weeks.
“As we continuously strive to increase talent density, there are involuntary terminations. This happens in every company. The numbers reported by media are all way off,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted, adding that the exchange is “still hiring.”
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao last month for allegedly running a “web of deception” Binance has stated that it will vehemently defend itself.
The legal actions against Coinbase Global and Binance support SEC chair Gary Gensler’s severe stance towards the sector. However, a recent ruling in favour of Ripple Labs by a US judge shows that the regulator is up against a tough battle.
AMC behemoths BlackRock and Fidelity have submitted applications for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which is seen as a vote of confidence for the sector.
“Over the last six years, we have grown from 30 to a team of almost 8,000 across the globe. As we prepare for the next major bull cycle, it has become clear that we need to focus on talent density across the organisation to ensure we remain nimble and dynamic,” a spokesperson for Binance said.
Last week, a string of executives quit Binance, which included its chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann.
