The crypto bear market is coming, some people lay off employees for the winter, and some people are still recruiting

So far this year, cryptocurrencies and stocks have been battered by deteriorating economic conditions, with a recession likely looming, inflation high and the Federal Reserve poised to further cool the economy by raising interest rates.

The worsening economic outlook has led companies to cut hiring or scale back operations in an attempt to better manage costs and protect profits. In early June, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said in an email to company executives that he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and that 10% of the company's salaried employees would Employees will need to lose their jobs.

The pessimism has led to similar layoffs at companies in the crypto world, but not all, some are currently hiring and feasting on the carnage.

Who is cutting jobs?

Gemini

Gemini Trust Co., owned by billionairesTyler and Cameron Winklevoss, was one of the first cryptocurrency giants to announce layoffs. On June 2, the company said in a blog post that it would cut about 10% of its workforce, citing "volatile market conditions that are likely to persist for some time."

Coinbase

At the same time, Coinbase announced a hiring freeze, canceling job offers for employees who had already reached an agreement with it. The company later said it needed to lay off1,100 employees and prepare for an "extended" cryptocurrency winter, cutting its headcount by 18% because it was "overemployed" during the previous cryptocurrency market bull run.

BlockFi

BlockFi CEO Zac Prince announced that the firm, which offers clients high-yield crypto accounts, will"reduce its headcount by approximately 20%" to around 600 on June 13, saying "the decision was driven by negative market sentiment." Conditions driven to impact our growth rate and critical scrutiny of our strategic priorities."

Crypto.com

Crypto.com announced it would lay off 5 percent of the company, or 260 employees, to “ensure sustained and sustainable growth in the long term,” CEO Kris Marszalek said in a tweet on June 10. He added, "We will continue to evaluate how best to optimize our resources to position ourselves as the strongest builder in the down cycle and thus the biggest winner in the next bull market."

Over the past six months, Crypto.com has paid approximately $1.4 billion to sponsor the FIFA World Cup and to name the former Staples Center in Los Angeles. Additionally, Crypto.com paid $100 million for Matt Damon to star in a Super Bowl ad earlier this year that featured the famous proclamation: "Fortune Favors the Warriors."

2TM

2TM, the company that createdMercado Bitcoin, issued a statement saying it would lay off 12 percent of its 750 employees in the same week. According to CoinGecko, the company, which operates the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America, made a decision based on "changes in the global financial landscape" that required it to do more than reduce operating expenses.

Bitso

Bisto , Latin America's largest cryptocurrency exchange, revealed that it had laid off 80 of its 700 employees in the previous week amid a tightening economy. Founded in 2014, the company operates in the United States, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. The exchange has 34 tradable currencies and claims to be the largest in Mexico.

Buenbit

Buenbit , Argentina's leading cryptocurrency exchange, also said it needed to lay off 45% of its workforce around the same time, reducing its roster from 180 to 100 people. CEO Federico Ogue said in a Twitter thread that "we find ourselves going through a global scrutiny phase as the tech sector grows after exponential growth in 2021."

Who is hiring?

While growth momentum across the market is dragging down some companies experiencing hiring hangovers, others are expanding and potentially poaching talent lost to rivals.

FTX

FTX has no plans to stop hiring new employees, the company's chief executive, Sam Bankman-Fried, said on June 6. The second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume after Binance has about 250 employees, according to CoinMarketCap.

"We will continue to move forward," Bankman-Fried said in a Twitter thread. "Because we hire with heart, we can keep growing regardless of market conditions."

Kraken

Kraken said in a June 15 blog post that they have no intention of laying off staff and view the current market downturn as an "time to build." The company said it has made no adjustments to its hiring plans and has 500 positions left to fill for the rest of the year.

In its statement, the company emphasized that it is not guided by "short-term opportunities to maximize profits" and has learned how to weather tough times from experience in previous cycles established as far back as 2011.

Binance

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Binance is growing as competitors try to slim down and announced that the company was hiring2,000 employees, the same day Kraken revealed plans to hire more.

"It's not easy saying no to a Super Bowl ad," the CEO said in a tweet, implying that it's not in the company's best interest to pay for potential exposure.

“If we’re in a crypto winter, we’re going to take advantage of it, we’re going to make the most of it,”Zhao said at the Consensus 2022 conference in Austin, Texas, according to Fortune .

OpenSea

OpenSea announced “full hiring” at the bottom of a blog post on its website on June 14, disclosing details about the launch of its new Seaport, a Web3 protocol designed to facilitate NFT transactions.

Everstake

Also on June 14, Vlad Likhuta, head of growth at Ukrainian Web3 company Everstake, told the outlet in an email that the company offers clients high-yield accounts in cryptocurrencies and “continues to expand the team” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Added 30 employees.

Polygon

Known for its eponymous sidechain network and allowing dapps to scale on Ethereum, the company is also growing, Polygon CEO Ryan Watt tweeted on June 15, saying the company is working hard Increase headcount by about 15% by the end of the year.

That same day, Polygon's remote head, Tyler Sellhorn, took to Twitter to ask people who knew of the layoffs from Coinbase and other Web3 companies to apply to Polygon, posting a link to the company's job page in a subsequent tweet.

from here to where

More companies are likely to announce layoffs or even complete closures before the cryptocurrency market reverses course, while the downward trend in most digital asset prices could be exacerbated by falling stock markets or further economic turmoil.

However, some companies will take advantage of this opportunity and try to position themselves looking to take advantage of the market recovery, whenever it is.