Crypto exchange Gemini lays off 10% of workforce in its latest round of cuts

Crypto exchange Gemini will reduce its headcount by 10%, a spokesperson told CNBC on Monday.

It’s at least the third round of cuts in less than a year for Gemini, which was co-founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and unlike many of its peers, is subject to New York banking regulation.

Gemini had 1,000 employees as of Nov. 2022, according to PitchBook data, suggesting around 100 people lost their positions. TechCrunch reported that Gemini had previously trimmed its headcount by 7% in Jul. 2022, following a 10% staff a month earlier.

Other crypto firms like Crypto.com, Coinbase, Kraken, and Genesis have eliminated positions since Nov. 11, the day that Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy. In early January, Coinbase slashed 20% of its workforce in a second major round of job cuts in an effort to preserve cash during the crypto market downturn.

“It was our hope to avoid further reductions after this summer, however, persistent negative macroeconomic conditions and unprecedented fraud perpetuated by bad actors in our industry have left us with no other choice but to revise our outlook and further reduce headcount,” wrote Cameron Winklevoss in an internal message obtained by The Information.

Gemini has endured a battle over customer funds in recent weeks. The exchange also faces a legal fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission over an alleged unregistered offering and sale of securities in connection with its partnership with Barry Silbert’s bankrupt company, Genesis.

Gemini has been embroiled in an intense spat with Silbert’s Genesis Trading, a crypto lending firm that generated rich returns for Gemini clients through Gemini’s high-yield lending product, known as Gemini Earn.

The relationship soured when FTX filed for bankruptcy. Genesis subsequently froze lending and redemptions shortly thereafter, leaving Gemini customers short an estimated $900 million. The chain of failures also forced the Gemini Earn product to quickly follow suit with its own temporary suspension.

In the months since the Earn product was halted, Gemini’s 340,000 customers have grown increasingly frustrated. Some have banded together in a class action lawsuit against the exchange.

Genesis filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 19. The filing lists the 50 largest unsecured creditors, with Gemini topping the list at $765.9 million — more than $300 million higher than the next creditor.