Bullish Joins Rival Crypto Exchanges in Cutting Workforce: Report

Some employees have been laid off, but the exchange is still hiring for product, engineering and other strategic roles

article-image

blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Bullish delayed its plan to go public via a merger, pushing back the deal’s termination date to December
  • Investors including Block.one, Peter Thiel and Alan Howard together injected $10 billion in funding the exchange last year

Peter Thiel-backed cryptocurrency exchange Bullish is yet another firm dealing with pressure stemming from the crypto market liquidity drought.

The Gibraltar-registered company has laid off less than 30 employees, The Block reported on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The exchange employs more than 395 people, according to its website, meaning that the layoffs represent a 7% cut to its workforce.

A company spokesperson confirmed the job cuts according to the report, adding that Bullish is still hiring for product, engineering and other strategic roles.

The downturn in cryptocurrency markets has led to a series of firms cutting back on expenses or letting go of employees, including Coinbase, BlockFi, Crypto.com, Vauld, Gemini and Ignite. Some commentators expect market volatility and ensuing financial challenges to continue for the foreseeable future.

“I think there probably is some meaningful pain in the short term,” Noah Hamman, CEO of AdvisorShares, told Blockworks. “We think it will work itself out, but some companies won’t make it through. But then we feel it’s almost like a refresh…a little bit cleansing,” he added.

Bullish, a unit of blockchain software firm Block.one, has offices in Hong Kong, New York, Washington DC, Virginia, Singapore, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. 

The exchange, launched in 2021 with $10 billion in funding, originally targeted only institutional investors. But it later expanded services, including automated market making, lending and portfolio management, to retail users. Among its backers are Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital and Founders Fund, British hedge fund manager Alan Howard, Galaxy Digital and Japanese investment bank Nomura.

In July last year, Bullish said it planned to go public via a merger with Far Peak Acquisition Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). That deal hasn’t closed yet, and the termination date was recently extended to Dec. 31, 2022. Bullish said it paid Far Peak an extension fee of $2.5 million and expects the deal to close in the third quarter this year.

If the deal goes through as intended, Bullish will become a publicly-listed company and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bullish didn’t immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.

This story has been edited to correct the number of employees laid off.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago

article-image

The final Bitcoin halving, where the mining reward becomes smaller than one satoshi, is expected to occur in 2140