Gemini Exchange Cuts Workforce for Second Time in 2 Months: Report

Gemini is shrinking its workforce once again, less than two months after its first round of layoffs.

The cryptocurrency exchange has reduced about 7% of its staff this time, or 68 employees, as part of “extreme cost-cutting,” TechCrunch reported on Monday, citing a source close to the company who reviewed a common Gemini Slack channel. 

Gemini reportedly didn’t communicate the move widely within the entire company. The latest cutback comes after the exchange said it would cut 10% of its staff in early June, citing the crypto downturn and uncertainty relating to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors.

The company still has 16 open roles, with the majority in software engineering, according to listings on its website.

A document showing the company’s plans to downsize by 15% to 800 employees, from 950 at the time, was shared within the organization and on workplace community app Blind on July 14, but was soon pulled down, the report said. 

TechCrunch reported that Cameron Winklevoss, one of the billionaire twins that co-founded Gemini, slammed sharing of internal communication on Blind, calling such leaks “super lame” and criticizing it as disrespectful to fellow colleagues. He said his message was a “friendly reminder that Karma is the blockchain of the universe — an immutable ledger that keeps track of positive and negative behavior.”

Gemini didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time. 

The company is one among several to have recently let go of staff as they expect to go through a prolonged market downturn. Coinbase, OpenSea, Crypto.com, BlockFi and Bullish are just some cryptocurrency firms that have cut costs by downsizing during the “crypto winter.”

Bitcoin recovered some losses to begin the week but is down 53% so far this year, while ether has fallen nearly 60% in the same period, data from Blockworks Research shows. 

“There is now a situation where many cryptocurrency exchanges (who were relying on prices to continue to climb) are struggling to stay afloat, which is concerning,” said Tammy Da Costa, analyst at DailyFX.

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