Kraken Immediately LAID Off 1,100 Employees Following A Trust Crisis In Crypto Market

Kraken was forced to reduce employees due to the crypto crisis. (photo: twitter @krakenfx)

JAKARTA - Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said on Wednesday, November 30, it would cut its global workforce by 30%, or around 1,100 employees. This is due to the difficult market conditions that have crippled digital asset demand this year.

Higher interest rates and fears of an economic downturn have rocked cryptocurrencies as investors escape from risky assets, while the bankruptcy of the FTX crypto exchange has recently added to uncertainty.

"Since the beginning of this year, macroeconomic and geopolitical factors have burdened financial markets," a source in Kraken said.

Kraken said it had experienced a decline in trading volume and fewer clients registered. They added that the layoffs this time would make the number of employees the same as 12 months ago.

Earlier this month, crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc also cut jobs in its recruitment and institutional orientation teams.

Kraken, which previously slowed recruitment and recalled marketing spending, said it was forced to cut jobs as it had spent other measures to adjust costs to current demand.

Meanwhile, the FTX crypto exchange boom, the highest-profile victim of market turmoil this year, continues to stir up across the industry, including BlockFi which also filed for bankruptcy earlier this week.

The rise has dragged the price of the largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, to its lowest level of about two years.

Global regulators have since circled crypto companies with many beings