Binance – the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – has confirmed that its “reevaluating” its talent base following an external report that the firm plans to lay off roughly 20% of its workforce next month.
The report presents a stark contrast to Binance’s position of strength last year, having stood out among industry leaders for continuing to expand during the bear market.
On Wednesday, popular Chinese crypto reporter Colin Wu said he’d confirmed with “multiple sources” that Binance had begun to lay off workers. Though the current proportion remains uncertain, estimates suggested the number of fired employees could be as high as 20% of Binance’s 8000-person workforce.
“Some departments are still continuing to recruit,” clarified Wu. “The layoffs may be related to the poor overall market and the large expansion before.”
Nearly one year ago, Binance CEO Changpneg Zhao boasted that the exchange was sitting on a “healthy war chest” thanks to relatively frugal spending during the previous year’s bull market.
Unlike rival exchanges such as Coinbase and Crypto.com which were cutting their headcount, Binance confirmed that it would be hiring over 2000 employees at the time.
Apparently, things haven’t changed on that front. In a message to CryptoPotato on Wednesday, a Binance spokesperson maintained that the firm is still seeking out new talent to “fill hundreds of open roles.”
“As we prepare for the next major bull cycle, it has become clear that we need to focus on talent density across the organization to ensure we remain nimble and dynamic,” the spokesperson said. “This is not a case of rightsizing, but rather, reevaluating whether we have the right talent and expertise in critical roles.”
The representative added that the company would look into “certain products and business units” to ensure its resources were allocated properly.
Binance’s Chief Communications Officer, Patrick Hillman, also stressed that the company was not enacting a 20% layoff “as a cost-cutting measure.” Rather, it’s part of a “talent density audit and resource allocation exercise,” the company conducts on a cyclical 6-month basis.
“We have amazing talent at Binance and we will continue to retain and hire more top talent,” he added.
Despite slowing business activity last year, major crypto companies like Coinbase and Block reported sizable quarter-to-quarter revenue improvements in Q1 2023 as the crypto market bounced well away from its November lows.