Crypto business Gemini removes 10% of the staff in its recent round to slash

January 25, 2023: Crypto exchange Gemini will reduce its headcount by 10%, a spokesperson stated on Monday.

It’s at least the third round of slashes very soon for Gemini, which was started by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and unlike different of its peers, in relation to New York banking norms.

Gemini had 1,000 workers as of November 2022, according to PitchBook data, which suggests around 100 people lost their positions. TechCrunch stated that Gemini had previously trimmed its headcount by 7% in July 2022, after a 10% staff a month earlier.

Other crypto firms such as Crypto.com, Coinbase, Kraken, and Genesis had eliminated positions since November 11, when Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy. At the beginning of January, Coinbase trimmed 20% of its workforce in the next major round of job cuts to preserve cash during the crypto market downturn.

“We hoped to avoid further reductions after this summer. Therefore, persistent negative macroeconomic levels and unprecedented fraud perpetuated by bad actors in our industry are leaving us with no choice but to renew our outlook and further decrease the headcount,” stated Cameron Winklevoss in an inner message obtained by The Information.

Gemini has had a battle over customer funds in recent weeks. The exchange encounters a legal fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an alleged unregistered offering and sale of securities about its partnership with Barry Silbert’s bankrupt firm, Genesis.

The relationship zoomed in when FTX filed for bankruptcy. Genesis froze lending and redemptions shortly after that, leaving Gemini customers short an average of $900 million. The chain of failures has forced the Gemini Earn product to follow suit with its temporary suspension.

After the Earn product was halted, Gemini’s 340,000 customers have grown increasingly frustrated. Few have banded together in a class action lawsuit against the exchange.

Genesis is filing for bankruptcy protection on January 19. The filing lists the 50 significant unsecured creditors, with Gemini that tops the list at $765.9 million, over $300 million higher than the subsequent creditor.