Photographer: Yuichiro Chino/Moment RF/Getty Images
Hannah Miller
The crypto bank Anchorage Digital is the latest industry participant to slash staff as the sector continues to grapple with a major market downturn for digital assets. The financial services startup said Tuesday that it is laying off about 20% of its staff, or 75 people, and cited the uncertain crypto regulatory landscape in the US as a factor in its decision.
Coinbase Global Inc., Blockchain.com, Genesis and CRYPTO.COM also employees in 2023, leading to more than 2,000 job cuts so far this year. San Francisco-based Anchorage said in its statement that broad macroeconomic challenges and the volatility of the crypto market also pushed it to shed staff.
“The need for better crypto infrastructure is growing ever clearer,” Anchorage said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “For us, that means focusing resolutely on our status as an unequivocal qualified custodian, among other safe and regulated ways for institutions to participate in the digital asset ecosystem.”
Crypto layoffs pile up as bear market enters second year
Source: Company statements, press reports
Footnote: Some figures are estimates based on total employees and percentage of job cuts
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The first federally chartered crypto bank in the US, Anchorage previously raised $350 million at a more than $3 billion valuation from investors led by private equity firm KKR & Co. in 2021. The company has clashed with US regulators, though. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in April that Anchorage did not have key money-laundering controls in place and that its compliance program lacked staff and internal processes to verify customers in 2021.
Anchorage’s staff cuts are just the latest setback for the crypto banking sector. Crypto-friendly Signature Bank was seized by the government on Sunday after regulators lost faith in management. Silvergate Capital Corp., which was once known for running the bank of choice for crypto companies, said earlier this month that it is working on winding down its operations and liquidating its bank after it faced regulatory scrutiny, major losses and the shutdown of its crypto payments network.
— With assistance by Muyao Shen
