‘Business as Usual,’ Says Amber Group, Despite Reported Layoffs and Founder’s Death

Crypto firm says in a tweet that it has adjusted business strategies, products and internal teams to weather market environment

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

Crypto platform Amber Group is reportedly laying off more people in a move that mirrors continued staff cuts across the space as the bear market trudges on. 

The Singapore-based firm had cut between 5% and 10% of its headcount in 2022, Bloomberg reported in September. 

Now, the company has begun to lay off hundreds of people again this month, reporter Colin Wu tweeted late Monday, citing former employees. Wu added that Amber Group has asked Chinese employees to work from home and clear their offices.

Amber Group reports having more than 1,000 institutional clients and $5 billion in assets on its platform. The firm said in a tweet Tuesday that Amber Group and its WhaleFin app were “business as usual,” but alluded to some changes amid tough market conditions.  

“Weathering through market cycles, we have to constantly adjust and pivot our business strategies, product offerings, and, as a result, internal teams and functions,” Amber Group tweeted.

An Amber Group spokesperson did not immediately return a request for further comment.

Layoffs in the segment have persisted in the wake of crypto exchange FTX filing for bankruptcy last month. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said in a series of Dec. 3 tweets that the company is set to downsize “across the board,” while Australian crypto exchange Swyftx revealed Monday that it cut 90 employees.

Amber Group said in a Nov. 9 tweet thread — as the extent of FTX’s insolvency emerged — that the company had no exposure to Alameda Research, a firm also founded by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or FTX’s native token, FTT. 

It did however note that it was an active trading participant on FTX and had withdrawals yet to be processed — accounting for less than 10% of Amber Group’s total trading capital. 

“It does not pose a threat to our business operations or liquidity,” the company tweeted at the time. 

The report comes after Amber Group co-founder Tiantian Kullander unexpectedly died in his sleep on Nov. 23, according to a company post. He was 30. 

Amber Group in February had raised an additional $200 million as part of an extended Series B round led by Singaporean state holding company Temasek. The fundraise gave the company a valuation of about $3 billion.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

Silk Road founder Ulbricht made a triumphant return to the Bitcoin Conference, 10 years on from sentencing

article-image

A Blockworks Research report looked at who could take up some of the marketshare in the launchpad space

article-image

Business-to-business stablecoin payments are on the rise, per a report from Artemis, Dragonfly and Castle Island

article-image

Crypto continues to do its thing: incentivizing behavior

article-image

Kraken will soon offer Backed ‘xStocks’ as Solana tokens

article-image

In a unanimous decision, the US Court of International Trade has ruled that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are unlawful