Crypto Lending Firm Celsius Lays Off 25 Percent Staff Amid Tumbling Market Situation: Reports

Celsius Network, a cryptocurrency lending platform based in the US, has become the latest entrant in the list of crypto firms that are having to fire their employees in order to make it through the ongoing crypto slowdown. The company, headquartered in New Jersey, US, has reportedly fired a quarter of its staff, making for 150 workers. While the company is yet to make an official statement on the matter, its move is not quite a shocking one. On June 13, Celsius Network paused withdrawals, swaps, and transfers citing liquidity concerns.

Celsius staff members from its US and Israel offices have faced the brunt of this lay-off, said a report by Calcalist.

A couple of weeks ago, Celsius onboarded restructuring advisors from a law firm called Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. The company is essentially looking for help to sustain itself during the ongoing rough times.

Amid global economic slowdown and recession-like financial climate, the potentially risky investment instruments like stocks and cryptocurrencies have taken a huge hit.

The overall market cap of the crypto sector that stood at over $2 trillion (roughly Rs. 15,610,304 crore) around March, has tumbled down to its current figure of $863 billion (roughly Rs. 68,21,971 crore) in the last three months.

The company is also exploring possibilities of creating a new platform, implementing upgrades to its systems, and see if any assets can be recovered.

If executed, these steps could allow depositors to profit from asset revival via advanced financial engineering.

Recently, FTX crypto exchange was reportedly gearing up to seal a financial aid deal with Celsius but after the latter saw losses exceeding $2 billion (roughly Rs. 15,781 crore), FTX stepped back.

The ongoing crypto slump has forced several other companies to let off of their employees as a cost-cutting measure.

Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world also laid-off 18 percent of its workforce last month.

Web3 firms, BlockFi and Crypto.com as well as Vauld crypto trading platform announced lay-offs from their respective companies in June citing economic instability.