BlocksInform
Hundreds of people lost their jobs in businesses belonging to crypto venture capital company digital money group (dcg), like crypto's long winter, chilled from the collapse of the FTX, keeps affecting the area.
Among recent dismissals, luno cryptocurrency based in London announced on January. A 35% cut in manpower, release close to 330 professionals following turbulence in the technology and cryptography sectors, that had an impact on the overall growth and turnover of the company.
Luno was part of the dcg portfolio, alongside hq digital, a subsidiary of asset management incubated by dcg since 2020 which managed $3.5 billion in assets in December 2022. The head office was shut down in January 2023, affecting a minimum of 26 employees, according to its related profile. In a shareholder's letter on jan. 10, DCG CEO Barry Silbert noted that “while we still believe in the HQ concept and its outstanding leadership team, the current downturn is not conducive for the near-term sustainability of that business.”
Related: Gemini and Genesis’ legal troubles stand to shake up industry further
Silbert's current cited slowdown has also affected DCG employees. The company reduced its workforce by almost 13 per cent earlier this year, resulting in the loss of 66 jobs. The crypto conglomerate stated that it was seeking to reorganize its finances and promote several senior executives in a restructuring process.
115 other jobs have been eliminated by dcg's parent subsidiaries. On Jan. 5, Genesis Global Trading announced it was cutting 30% of its team, or 63 employees, less than six months after disclosing plans to trim 20% of its staff, or 52 employees, in August.
Facing liquidity issues after the FTX collapse, Genesis’ lending entities — Genesis Global Holdco, Genesis Global Capital and Genesis Asia Pacific, collectively known as Genesis Capital — filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 19, estimating liabilities of up to $10 billion. The genesis global trading entities and genesis spot and derivatives trading entities continue to operate.
DCG’s portfolio also includes digital currency asset manager Grayscale, trading platform Tradeblock, financing and advisory company Foundry, and media outlet Coindesk, which is reportedly considering a sale to strengthen DCG’s balance sheet.
The liquidity crisis within the digital currency group has raised fears of future crypto crashes and their contagious effects on conventional finance. While the industry had a bull market in November 2021, Dcg's valuation exceeded $10 billion through the sale of its shares to Softbank, Alphabet and Ribbit. A year later, the company was seeking to raise $500 to fund its portfolio amid liquidity issues.
Over the past several months, we have been aggressively reducing costs in response to the current market situation, that included the reduction of operating costs, and regrettably, downsizing DCG," Silbert told DCG shareholders.
