Announcing layoffs of 75 employees, or about 20% of its personnel, the cryptocurrency bank Anchorage Digital cited regulatory uncertainties in the US as a motivating factor.
Anchorage described the layoffs in a statement from March 14 as “a strategic realignment to better focus our resources,” citing “wide macroeconomic issues and crypto market volatility” as additional factors that contributed to its change in approach.
It said that customer assets in custody “are at an all-time high” and that market conditions have increased demand for its services, but it added:
The macroeconomic, market, and regulatory factors that are causing these challenges are also affecting the cryptocurrency industry.
In January 2021, Anchorage, the first crypto company established in the United States to receive a national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, declared its continued confidence in the development of “regulated solutions for digital asset holders” in the market.
The layoffs occur at a time when the US financial system is in chaos as a result of the failure of three regional banks in the span of a single week.
Since March 8, Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank have all failed. As a result, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has taken the unusual step of insuring all customer deposits for SVB and Signature. $250k is the usual minimum for guarantees.
Uncertainty exists surrounding the extent to which Anchorage’s decision to reduce staff was influenced by recent events involving SVB, Signature, and Silvergate.
Cointelegraph’s request for comment from Anchorage did not immediately receive a response.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been significantly less job cuts within the cryptocurrency sector after almost 3,000 roles were lost by companies like Coinbase and Crypto.com in January and February, respectively.
