Bybit, a Dubai-based crypto exchange plans another round of downsizing its staff. The CEO, Ben Zhou, on Twitter said that the firm is trying to “refocus” its operations amidst the deepening of the bear market. The firm had its last layoff in June. According to the tweet, 30% of the employees will be cut off across the board. Apart from Bybit, many crypto firms are downsizing their staff due to the bear market. Bybit is a crypto exchange founded in 2018 and ranked ninth out of 64 derivatives exchanges. Swyftx CEO Alex Harper said that the firm laid off 40% of their employees (90 in total) in advance preparation for the “worst case scenario” caused by the collapse of FTX. A spokesperson from the Austrailian-based crypto exchange said that the 40% cut in staff was also in anticipation of a fall in trading volumes, despite figures increasing in November.
Genesis, a trading and lending platform creditors group accounts for $1.8 billion amount of loans and is likely to increase. Gemini’s Earn program, which is in a collaboration with Genesis owed $900 million after Genesis suspended withdrawals on November 16 to the users. The Proskauer group brings the total to $1.8 billion, and a third ad hoc group, which is being handled by Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm that is also representing the bankrupt cryptocurrency companies Celsius and Voyager Digital, is expected to add more, according to the source. By the time of publication, Proskauer Rose, Latham & Watkins, and Kirkland & Ellis had not responded to requests for comment by press time. Genesis is tied up with Moelis & Co Bank for potential financial options, and the bank attempted to raise $1 billion in hopes to avoid the “liquidity crunch” which led to the suspension of withdrawals.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase has his say on the downfall of FTX. According to him, Even the most gullible person should not believe in SBF’s (Sam Bankman Fried) claims that said it was an accounting error. CEO Armstrong, stated in a tweet that “it’s stolen money used in his hedge fund, plain and simple.” It is supposed that $10 billion worth of customer funds have been transferred to Alameda, a hedge fund behind the doors. The reason behind the transferring of funds to Alameda was that some banks were more inclined to work with hedge funds than a crypto exhcange, SBF explained. As the fall of SBF’s empire casts a shadow over the entire sector and its potential future, Coinbase has seized on the downfall of FTX to position itself as a reputable name in the cryptocurrency space. Coinbase ran a full-page “Trust Us” ad in the Wall Street Journal less than a week after FTX declared bankruptcy. Coinbase stock price fell 17% to $47.67 from $57.46 following the wake of the FTX collapse.
