The crypto market is currently not doing well. The price of Bitcoin, for example, dropped to below USD 25 thousand, even though it felt like it had recently touched the point of USD 60 thousand. The same goes for other cryptocurrencies. One of those affected is the crypto wallet company Coinbase.
As quoted by us from CNBC, Coinbase based in the United States will lay off 19% of its employees. The company has about 5,000 employees, so that about 1,100 people will be cut off.
Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, stated that there is a possibility of an economic recession so the company must make efficiency. Moreover, according to him, Coinbase is growing too fast.
"It looks like we're going into a recession after more than 10 years of economic boom. A recession could trigger the next crypto winter and could last for quite a while," he said.
Crypto winter is the term for the decline in the value of cryptocurrencies over a long period of time. This happened in 2017 and 2018 when the Bitcoin price fell by 80%.
"Although it is difficult to predict the state of the economy or the market, we are always prepared for the worst conditions so that we can operate our business under any conditions," he added.
At first, Coinbase delayed hiring before now finally deciding to lay off quite a number of its employees. Their business performance is indeed dismal, where the stock price has also fallen to 85% from its highest point.
“Our employee costs are too high to control effectively in an uncertain market. It is clear to me that we are hiring too much,” Armstrong wrote in an email to Coinbase employees.