Cryptocurrencies have suffered a massive hit in 2022, losing $1.9 trillion in value since the height of last year’s rally.
Companies struggled to weather the storm and many had to make significant cost-cutting measures.
According to data analysed by CryptoPresales.com, crypto companies laid off nearly 5,000 employees as the market started melting.
Massive layoffs come as the crypto market is struggling as a whole. According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin and Ethereum have lost 55% and 46% in total value year-over-year, while other largest digital coins witnessed an even more brutal plunge.
Cardano’s market cap dipped by a massive 82% in the last year, followed by Dogecoin’s 76% loss.
In April and May, crypto companies reported 235 job cuts. However, after digital coins slumped in June, the number of layoffs exploded. Statistics show that crypto companies let go more than 3,000 members of their staff in that month alone, or over 60% of the total job cuts to date.
In July, another 870 people working in the crypto industry lost their jobs, while in August, the number of reported layoffs dropped to 216.
The data, from Layoffs.fyi, showed San Francisco-based Coinbase made the biggest job cuts in the crypto market this year. In June, the company announced the redundancy of 1,100 people, or almost a fifth of its workforce amid a collapse in its stock and crypto prices.
The job cuts came after Coinbase, which gets most of its top line from transaction fees, reported a slump in users and a 27% YoY revenue drop.
Later that month, the Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit joined the list of companies cutting staff, with the second-largest layoff this year. The company cut off a whopping 30% of its 2,000-strong workforce.
Massive layoffs in June continued with the crypto exchange Huobi Global. Even before the crypto market crash, Huobi reported a sharp drop in revenue caused by China’s decision to ban crypto trading last year. As a result of the cost-cutting measures, the company laid off around 300 people – 30% of its workforce.
Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com follows with 260 reported job cuts. In June, the company let go 5% of its workforce due to the downturn in the crypto market.
However, layoffs didn’t end there. The company has quietly let go more employees since the initial layoffs, making it difficult to estimate their exact number.