Bybit, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, is planning to reduce the company’s workforce by nearly 30% due to an extended bear market.
As the prices of digital assets continue to decline, several crypto companies are caught in a vicious web of unending uncertainty. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) along with major altcoins have lost a colossal chunk of value after enjoying a dizzying rally in 2021. It seems the crypto market is reeling under a bad mojo with mishaps such as Terra/Luna and FTX exacerbating the downturn. In wake of such disasters, a number of bigwigs of the crypto industry have run into serious problems. In addition, crippling inflation, rising interest rates and economic uncertainty have also contributed to the chaos in the digital assets industry.
Bear Market Claims Another Victim
1) Difficult decision made today, but tough times demand tough decisions. I have just announced plans to reduce our workforce as part of an ongoing re-organisation of the business as we move to refocus our efforts for the deepening bear market.
— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) December 4, 2022
Bybit has become the latest crypto outfit to fall victim to the ongoing bear market. On December 4, Bybit co-founder and CEO, Ben Zhou took to Twitter to announce a restructuring plan and to cut the company’s workforce by almost 30%. Zhou added that the move is aimed at refocusing efforts and the job cuts will be across the board specifying the priority is to ensure business operations are unaffected and client assets remain safe.
Zhou revealed the incoming downsizing is because of a deepening bear market that has pushed investors to sell risk assets. He claimed the crypto market is entering into an even colder winter than anticipated from both industry and market perspectives. The Bybit CEO wrote,
“Difficult decision made today, but tough times demand tough decisions. I have just announced plans to reduce our workforce as part of an ongoing re-organization of the business as we move to refocus our efforts for the deepening bear market.”
Bybit’s Ebb and Flow
This comes on the heels after Bybit had reduced headcounts in June citing rampant inflation and a substantial decrease in consumer spending. In an internal letter to its employees, Zhou announced that he is exploring ways to help Bybit by removing overlapping functions and building smaller teams to improve efficiency. He noted,
“This will affect some of the existing team members unavoidably. It is one of the toughest decisions that I have taken to part ways ith great team members.”
After the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Empire, Bybit had announced a $100 Million Support Fund to help support cash crunched companies, institutional traders, market makers, and high-frequency trading organizations.
