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Binance Looking to Hire Developers, Support Staff in Romania

Binance Looking to Hire Developers, Support Staff in RomaniaGlobal crypto exchange Binance is now hiring IT specialists and customer service representatives for its operations in Romania. The leading coin trading platform is also engaged in a number of educational initiatives in collaboration with Romanian universities and authorities. Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance Recruiting Personnel for Romania Offices Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, […]

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Swyftx cuts 40% of staff as it braces against ‘worst-case scenario’

The Australian crypto exchange said while it had no exposure to FTX, it was "not immune" to its fallout.

Australian-based crypto exchange Swyftx has laid off a total of 90 staff members, which it said was in preparation for a “worst-case scenario” caused by the fallout of FTX and a potential fall in global trading volumes next year. 

The news was shared by Swyftx co-CEO Alex Harper in a Dec. 5 statement, noting that despite not having any exposure to FTX, the company was “not immune” to the fallout over the bankrupt exchange, adding:

“As a result, we have to prepare in advance for a worst-case scenario of further significant drops in global trade volumes during H1 next year and the potential for more black swan-type events.”

A Swyftx spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the 40% staff cut was also in anticipation of a fall in trading volumes, despite these figures increasing in November.

“We have let go of staff in expectation of a potentially sharp fall in global trade volumes in the first half of 2023 and further aftershocks from FTX’s collapse," said the spokesperson.

Harper in the statement said the tough decision was necessary in order to get through the prolonged crypto winter:

“Our business is uniquely well-positioned to weather events like FTX [...] But as much as we might wish it, we do not exist in isolation from the market and that’s why we are acting fast and acting early by significantly reducing the size of our team.”

The Swyftx spokesperson reiterated that the company’s balance sheet remained intact despite it being indirectly affected by the FTX collapse, adding:

“Just for clarity, I should say we have no exposure to FTX. We hold customer funds 1:1 and don’t lend customer assets to third parties.”

Harper also revealed that his company would become more risk-averse in its business decisions and that the staff cuts would ease operational costs on its balance sheet.

“Swyftx maintains strong revenue but we’re not willing to take any risks post-FTX and are being exceptionally cautious about costs next year,” added the spokesperson, who also noted that priority areas like security, compliance and customer support services wouldn’t be affected.

As for who was laid off, a Swyftx spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the firm’s research and development team was most affected by the staff cuts.

Related: AAX clients storm exchange's office in Lagos following operations halt

The latest staff layoffs follow another wave of layoffs in Aug. 2022, which saw 74 employees leaving the firm, accounting for 21% of its staff at the time. 

In August, Harper said the company “grew too fast” in 2021 when the market peak, but “we are simply far larger than we need to be to operate and grow.”

Digital Surge halts withdrawals

Meanwhile, another Australian-based trading platform Digital Surge, which halted withdrawals on Nov. 16, has been another company in Australia impacted by the FTX contagion.

The crypto exchange confirmed on Nov. 16 that it has suspended deposits and halted withdrawals, promising customers they’d give more details within two weeks.

However, as at the time of writing, the company has yet to provide any further information publicly.

Cointelegraph has reached out to Digital Surge for comment but has not received an immediate response.

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Customer support staff swamped during market swings — exchange execs

Binance Australia's CEO says it is imperative that customer support is ready for a large influx of customer inquiries at any moment.

Crypto market turbulence can be an immensely stressful time for customer support staff at crypto exchanges, with companies vastly bolstering headcounts just to meet demand during surges. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Alex Harper, co-founder and CEO of Australian crypto exchange SwyftX said that “no matter what your role title is [...] no one was above customer support at Swyft."

He said that he, along with staff members from human resources and the CFO have had to work late into the night on occasion to assist their customer support teams when markets go crazy, explaining:

“Elon Musk quotes posts about Dogecoin, you get seven times daily signups”.

Harper explained that SwyftX strives for a two-minute response time, “given customers need to have questions answered and understand things.”

He also noted that their customer staff team now makes up over a third of their headcount, offering the ability to provide 24/7 support.

Leigh Travers, CEO of Binance Australia, told Cointelegraph that Binance’s customer support team has “expanded” to keep up with customer demand, and given how new cryptocurrency is for even those working in customer support, investing in their training and development is a priority.

Travers suggested that customer support departments are prioritized in the company, describing them as “the window to the entire Binance platform,” recognizing their work as vital to the success of the company.

“Team leaders and country managers participate in a user centric training program to understand the role of customer support and protect users and receive first hand customer experiences.”

Travers explained that due to unpredictable events in the crypto market such as the Terra Luna and UST “unwind” causing a dramatic “spike” in demand for customer support; it’s imperative that the customer support team are ready for a large influx of customer inquiries at any moment.

Travers said he has also jumped behind the deck of the Binance chat support and directly “responding to user inquiries,” in order to better understand how it works behind the scenes, adding this was a vital part of ensuring customer support can match the demand.

Related reading: Mental health and crypto: How does volatility affect well-being?

Travers explained that when markets stabilize customer support staff take advantage of the down period to utilize the “quieter time” creating “explainer blogs and FAQs to give users better easily accessible information.”

He added that the onboarding process can be the most demanding for customer support workers “regardless of the market conditions, including whether it’s a bull or bear market” their customers always “want to be onboarded quickly and efficiently.”

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Central Bank of Argentina Issues New Compliance Rules for Digital Wallets

Central Bank of Argentina Issues New Compliance Rules for Digital WalletsThe Central Bank of Argentina has issued a new set of rules for operators of digital wallets in the country. Customers of companies like Uala, a wallet popular in Argentina, will now be qualified as financial users, having new protections similar to those offered by banks and other financial institutions. Central Bank of Argentina Strengthens […]

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Coinbase users angry with customer support after funds disappear from accounts

Coinbase customers are venting again in frustration with the lack of customer support from the $65 billion company.

Coinbase is under fire for terrible customer service following reports of users accounts being hacked and drained of funds. 

According to an Aug. 24 investigation by CNBC, thousands of customers across the country have lodged complaints against the company.

The outlet stated that it had interviewed numerous Coinbase customers who claimed hackers had drained their accounts, with the issue exacerbated by the exchange not responding to support requests:

Interviews with Coinbase customers around the country and a review of thousands of complaints reveal a pattern of account takeovers, where users see money suddenly vanish from their account, followed by poor customer service from Coinbase that made those users feel left hanging and angry.

One Coinbase client, Tanja Vidovic, claimed to have lost nearly all of her $168,000 in cryptocurrency holdings after receiving a number of password change security alerts in April. Attempts to contact Coinbase by phone were fruitless, Tanja said.

Another customer told the outlet that after logging in to the Coinbase app in March, almost $35,000 in various crypto assets had disappeared from his account. Coinbase’s Regulatory Response Team eventually emailed the victim stating that transactions on the blockchain are irreversible adding that Coinbase’s insurance policy does not cover theft from individual accounts.

In March, the New York Times ran a piece on a helpless Coinbase customer who eventually sued the company after losing $100,000 worth of cryptocurrency.

Venting their frustrations, other Coinbase users have taken to social media such as popular analyst Kaleo who told his 360,000 followers that the company had shown an “absolutely embarrassing display of care for customers.”

The tweet, which was posted less than a day ago, had already attracted a stream of responses from other Coinbase customers that had similar problems with support or had been hacked. Coinbase did actually respond to this complaint, but one individual pointed out that:

“You will only reply and assist people who have many followers so your reputation will not go down to hell! What about us? 5 months with no help! Locked account!”

Others said “I haven’t been able to get into my Coinbase account for almost 4 months now. The worst!”

Related: Coinbase creates support phone line for account takeovers

In April, when the company went public, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong somewhat ironically told CNBC, “People no longer need to be scared of it [crypto] like in the early days.”

Coinbase users have filed more than 11,000 complaints against Coinbase with the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2016, and the majority of them are related to customer service.

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