Swyftx, an Australian cryptocurrency exchange, has laid off 90 employees, accounting for 40% of its workforce. Swyftx announced the development via a press release this morning. The decision was made in response to the decline of the crypto market and anticipation of future “black swan” events.
Swyftx co-founder Alex Harper stated in a memo sent to team members that the company was built to withstand events like this, but it does not want to be isolated, hence the restructuring.
“Our business is uniquely well-positioned to weather events like FTX. We provide a customer experience that is unrivalled in cryptocurrency, and we are, by a distance, the country’s most trusted exchange. But as much as we might wish it, we do not exist in isolation from the market, and that’s why we are acting fast and acting early by significantly reducing the size of our team.” He added.
Alex also admitted that the team was one of the largest in Australia and had grown bigger than expected to function properly. The co-founder cited the FTX liquidity crunch as one of the reasons for the decision.
He stated:
“The truth is that Swyftx grew too fast. Our world was very different at the start of the year, and our forecasts were for global trading volumes to carry on rising for at least six months longer than they did. The fact we are now making our costs more consistent with industry standards is, in no way at all, a reflection on our team members. ……. but the FTX situation has forced us to plan for a period of diminished trading activity.”
The company reiterates that it is still Australia’s top-rated exchange and is in a strong position. This is the Australian exchange’s second round of layoffs, following the dismissal of 74 employees in October due to an uncertain business environment and rising inflation rates.
Other cryptocurrency companies have restructured and laid off employees to combat adverse market conditions.
Bybit, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has also announced plans to reduce its workforce by 30% in order to weather the crypto storm. The ripple effect of the FTX fallout and the current crypto market conditions have led to a myriad of negative developments in the overall crypto space.
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