Dapper Labs Axes Another 20% of its Staff as Crypto Layoffs Continue

February 23, Dapper Labs Chief Executive Officer. Roham Gharegozlou sent the team a letter announcing a "restructuring of the company" and dismissals.

It is the second round of company layoffs following its downsizing of employees by 22% in November. Gharegozlou stated:

"As part of this realignment, we made the difficult decision to separate from the team, which accounts for 20% of full-time employees."

The company has already cited too rapid growth, with an increase in the number of employees from 100 to 600 in under two years during the NFT boom.

The company is the developer behind some of the world's most successful NFT collections, like the best shots of the NBA and the first game to overload ethereum back in 2017, cryptokitties.

Dapper Labs is adding to crypto terminations.

Despite staff cuts, Gharegozlou stated that the company "remains in a solid cash position with no outstanding debt." He added that "we are committed to our flagship products, which are extremely enthusiastic about several major launches this year."

For the wretched who face the hatchet, there is a package of benefits that includes "generous indemnification", benefits to maintain health, extension of fiscal periods for share options, mental health benefits and support in finding a job."

Layoffs in the cryptography industry have continued in spite of markets increasing by 38% so far this year. On Feb. 22, blockchain research and analysis firm Messari announced that it was laying off 15% of its workforce. "Market winds" in the crypto industry have been cited as the cause.

In January, digital asset exchange and wallet provider CRYPTO.COM announced a 20% reduction in staff. However, the circle of stablecoin emitters has overtaken the trend with an increase of 25% of its staff.

Ongoing Court Case

Furthermore, Dapper Labs is currently embroiled in a court case. Feb. 22, USA district court Victor Marrero refused the company's application to dismiss a lawsuit concerning the high-end NFT collection.

The judge asserts that the NFT provided by Dapper Laboratories appears to meet the definition of a title. Gharegozlou said:

There's a lot of misinformation about what that decision is.  All the ruling means is that the case goes to discovery with absolutely no substantive decision on whether NBA Top Shots are securities.”

Today’s order in the Friel v. The Dapper Labs case, which the Court characterized as a "close call", did not dismiss our motion to dismiss the complaint until after argument. The judge did not conclude the plaintiffs were right, and it’s not a final ruling on the case’s merits.

— Dapper Labs (@dapperlabs) February 22, 2023