Crypto exchange platform Gemini has revealed plans to trim its workforce by 10% as it seeks to navigate the economic downturn.
According to reports, this is Gemini’s third round of job cut in less than a year. In July 2022, the crypto exchange trimmed its workforce by 7%, and in November same year, it had 1,000 employees and laid off around 100 people.
Speaking on Gemini’s proposed layoff plan, the company’s founder Cameron Winklevoss, disclosed that the current macroeconomic conditions have left the company with no choice but to lay off some members of its workforce.
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In his words,
“It was our hope to avoid further reductions after this summer, however, persistent negative macroeconomic conditions and unprecedented fraud perpetuated by bad actors in our industry have left us with no other choice but to revise our outlook and further reduce headcount”.
Meanwhile, Gemini crypto exchange announced last year December that its customers were targeted in phishing campaigns after a threat actor collected their personal information from a third-party vendor.
The crypto platform then went ahead to advise its customers to rely on strong authentication methods and recommended activating two-factor authentication (2FA) protection and/or the use of hardware security keys to access their accounts.
The company also provides the steps necessary for changing the email address associated with the Gemini account.
This year, in an open letter issued to the Digital Currency Group (DCG), Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss accused cryptocurrency lender Genesis of defrauding Gemini and its 340,000 users.
Earn Update: An Open Letter to the Board of @DCGco pic.twitter.com/eakuFjDZR2
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) January 10, 2023
This prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to charge both crypto firms Genesis and Gemini with allegedly selling unregistered securities in connection with a high-yield product offered to depositors.
According to the SEC, Genesis loaned Gemini users’ crypto and sent a portion of the profits back to Gemini, which then deducted an agent fee, sometimes over 4%, and returned the remaining profit to its users. “Genesis should have registered that product as a securities offering”, SEC officials said in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
The two firms have been engaged in a high-profile battle over $900 million in customer assets that Gemini entrusted to Genesis as part of the Earn program, which was shuttered this week.
Also, following the collapse of the FTX exchange platform last year, Genesis also suspended withdrawals, restricting customers from pulling their funds.
The crypto firm revealed that it has $175 million tied up with FTX. Genesis (GGH) and two subsidiaries Genesis Global Capital et Genesis Asia Pacific have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York.