Gemini exchange cuts 10% of employees after Genesis bankruptcy

The platform’s co-founder Cameron Winklevoss cited “unprecedented fraud” by individual crypto companies among the reasons

24.01.2023 - 08:15

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What’s new? Crypto exchange Gemini has conducted its third round of layoffs and laid off 10% of its employees, The Information reports. This followed the bankruptcy of crypto lender Genesis, part of Barry Silbert’s conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG). Together, the companies were running the Earn program for exchange customers, but Genesis currently owes them $900 million. Following the crypto lender’s bankruptcy, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said he would sue Silbert and DCG if he did not get a fair offer to repay creditors.

Material by The Information

What else does the publication report? In a message to colleagues, Cameron Winklevoss explained that the exchange hoped “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.”

Gemini made its first round of layoffs in June 2022, also cutting 10% of its staff. This was the first-ever mass layoffs since the platform’s founding in 2014. Back then, the exchange founders cited geopolitical instability and the macroeconomic situation as reasons for optimization. A month and a half later, the exchange held its second round of layoffs, reducing the staff by another 7% due to “extreme cost cutting.”

On January 12, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Genesis and Gemini with unregistered offerings and sales of securities to retail investors through Gemini Earn, a crypto asset lending program. Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss called the SEC’s actions counterproductive to the company’s attempts to recover funds from investors in the program.

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