BlockFi fires 20% of its employees due to bear market

BlockFi says its intention is to remain profitable amid the tough market conditions.

Crypto platform BlockFi has announced that it is cutting its employee numbers by 20%, following in the footsteps of other major companies in the industry.

The platform, which has seen significant growth over the past four+ years following the debut of its crypto-backed loan feature, says the job cuts will impact “every team at the company.”

According to a blog announcement from founders Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, the decision to let go of so  many of the platform’s staff is down to prevailing  macroeconomic conditions. The company says the move will be followed by a review of its strategic priorities. 

Cutting jobs to ensure company remains profitable

BlockFi’s employee count jumped from 150 at the end of 2020 to over 850 in 2022, with the massive increase coming on the back of greater growth underpinned by cryptocurrency’s incredible growth in 2021. It will now have 600+ employees.

The company, like most others in the crypto sector, experienced the pain of the ongoing bear market.

According to Zac and Flori, the staff reduction is part of wider measures undertaken over the past several months as they seek to remain profitable. The firm has reduced marketing spend, eliminated non-critical vendors and cut executive compensation. It also slowed down its hiring.

The company expects no material disruption to its services or products or services, the co-founders said in the blog post.

Other major companies to announce job cuts are crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini. Bitcoin and the broader crypto market has been in a downward trend since last November.