The company claimed that there were several reasons for the excessive growth rate and changing market sentiment. Web3 companies find themselves in a difficult situation as crypto winter approaches. The Bitpanda, a Vienna-based company, announced earlier today that it would reduce its headcount by 1,000 to 730.
In a blog posting, Bitpanda stated that they are committed to Bitpanda’s mission and therefore must take decisive action now. The implications are terrible: We need to let some of our employees go and reduce the organization to 730 people.
Bitpanda is joining a growing number of crypto companies who have announced layoffs following the recent downturn. Crypto.com, Bitso and Buenbit, BlockFi and Coinbase are among others that have cut their workforce by 18%. Coinbase also rescinded job offers for new employees.
BitPanda mentions in a Slack thread that BitPanda has included in this post changing market sentiment, geopolitical tensions and rising inflation as reasons for the layoffs.
Bitpanda stated that there is “a lot of uncertainty in financial markets right now” and that, although we know the industry is cyclical but nobody knows when market sentiment will change.
Bitpanda was founded in October 2014 by Eric Demuth and Paul Klanschek. It is a platform that allows you to trade digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and commodities such as silver and gold.
Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire and entrepreneur who managed a series fundraises for over $500 million to support the European exchange in Europe between September 2020 – August 2021, is backing Bitpanda. Bitpanda was valued at $4.1 billion by August 2021.
The company admitted that the road was bumpy and that it was experiencing growing pains. The founders signed the blog post “The Way Forward”, explaining that hiring at such a rapid pace was unsustainable and a mistake.
The company states that “in keeping up with industry standards, our team’s rate of growth has been too high.” “We reached a point in which more people joined didn’t make us more efficient, but instead created coordination overheads, especially in this new market reality.”
The founders stressed that cost management is crucial and that fundamental operational changes are required. “These changes include prioritizing safety, compliance, education, community, and deprioritizing all else.”
The company offered several support options to employees who were affected by the downsizing. These included help with finding new employment, references and mental health support.
It was noted that while this is a difficult decision, it was necessary to ensure we are financially sound to weather the storm and emerge from it financially healthy. This will be true regardless of how long it takes for markets recover. However, this should not compromise on product quality or customer experience.
