Crypto.com CEO Says Bitcoin in Early Innings of Cycle, Expects ‘Great Performance’ From BTC in Next Six Months

April 16, 2024 The Daily Hodl

Crypto.com CEO Announces Cut to Global Workforce Amid Rallies in Broader Digital Asset Markets

January 15, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Crypto.com CEO announces 20% staff cut, ‘did not account’ for FTX collapse

January 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

"While we continue to perform well, growing to more than 70 million users worldwide and maintaining a strong balance sheet, we’ve had to navigate ongoing economic headwinds. "

The co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, Kris Marszalek, has announced a new wave of staff layoffs that will reduce its global workforce by another 20%, citing poor market conditions and "recent industry events."

"Today we made the difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by approximately 20%," Marszalek said in a company update on Jan. 13.

As I shared with the team today, while we continue to perform well, market conditions and recent industry events have made this the right decision for the company at this time.
— Kris | Crypto.com (@kris) January 13, 2023

"All impacted personnel have already been notified. These reductions were in no way related to performance, and we extend our deepest gratitude for all their contributions to Crypto.com."

Marszalek said several factors influenced their decision, including "ongoing economic headwinds and unforeseeable industry events." This was despite the crypto exchange growing to more than 70 million users worldwide.

"We grew ambitiously at the start of 2022, building on our incredible momentum and aligning with the trajectory of the broader industry. That trajectory changed rapidly with a confluence of negative economic developments."

The crypto exchange announced staff layoffs in June 2022, leading to 5% of its corporate workforce being laid off, affecting approximately 260 people.

Marszalek said the layoffs last year positioned it to weather the macro economic downturn, but it did not account for the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, which he said "significantly damaged trust in the industry."

"It’s for this reason, as we continue to focus on prudent financial management, we made the difficult but necessary decision to make additional reductions in order to position the company for long-term success."

Only days earlier, crypto exchange Coinbase announced on Jan. 10 that it was cutting 950 jobs as part of the company’s measures to reduce operating costs by around 25% amid the ongoing crypto winter.

Other crypto exchanges to announce layoffs in the last month include Kraken, Swyftx and Huobi.

Crypto.com’s Exposure to FTX Less Than $10 Million Says CEO — CRO Token Not Used as Collateral

November 15, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Proof-of-Reserves Concept Gains Traction as Major Crypto Exchanges Provide Wallet Lists and Promise Full Audits

November 12, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Crypto.com CEO Shares Company’s Crypto Reserve Addresses in the Wake of FTX Bankruptcy

November 11, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Crypto.com commits to proof-of-reserves after halting certain deposits and withdrawals

November 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

"We share the belief that it should be necessary for crypto platforms to publicly share proof of reserves," the Crypto.com CEO said.

Kris Marszalek, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has become the latest crypto company promising to publish "audited proof of reserves," amid the downfall of rival exchange FTX.

"We share the belief that it should be necessary for crypto platforms to publicly share proof of reserves," said Marszalek, adding that his company "will be publishing our audited proof of reserves."

We share the belief that it should be necessary for crypto platforms to publicly share proof of reserves and https://t.co/pFc4Pz9nFR will be publishing our audited proof of reserves.
— Kris | Crypto.com (@kris) November 10, 2022

The idea for crypto companies to publish their proof of reserves has gained traction in the wake of the FTX liquidity fiasco. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on Nov. 8 also pledged to start a Proof-of-Reserves audit system to give the public insights into the state of their reserves.

The Crypto.com CEO's comments come only hours after the exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals and deposits of USDC and USDT on the Solana network on Nov. 9.

In an email to users on Nov. 9, which had been circulating on Twitter, Crypto.com reportedly notified users of an “Immediate suspension of UDSC and USDT Deposits and withdrawals on Solana.”

In the email, the exchange assured its customers that they could still withdraw USDC and USDT at any time using other supported networks, such as Cronos and Ethereum, suggesting that other named networks had not been impacted by “recent industry events”.

When https://t.co/5NeQKxhWmO suspends all deposits and withdrawals via #Solana is clear something is not right... #cryptocrash #SOL pic.twitter.com/GFAcOVTzNR
— The Black Tie Report (@BlackTieReport) November 9, 2022

Cointelegraph reached out to Crypto.com, who confirmed that the news circulating on social media about the suspension of withdrawals and deposits of USDC and USDT on the Solana network was indeed true. The exchange added that “any unreceived deposits of these two tokens over Solana will be refunded without a fee for the next two weeks.” However, they declined to provide more depth on the issue.

The exchange added that “any unreceived deposits of these two tokens over Solana will be refunded without a fee for the next two weeks.” However, they declined to provide more depth on the issue.

The past 96 hours have seen the crypto markets sent into a frenzy due to the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.

On Nov. 6, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, announced plans to liquidate the entirety of its position in FTX Token (FTT), the native token of competing exchange FTX, which led to a bank run and the plunging of the price of its FTT token.

A surprise turn of events occurred on Oct. 8 when the Binance CEO shared that his company had “signed a non-binding Letter of Intent, intending to fully acquire FTX.com and help cover the liquidity crunch.”

The CEO added that nothing was set in stone as they were "assessing the situation in real time" and had the ability "to pull out from the deal at any time."

Less than 48 hours later, the CEO announced they had pulled out of the deal entirely.

The unfolding of these latest events has caused a cascading effect on the markets, particularly those with links to FTX and its related companies.

On Nov. 9, Cointelegraph reported that Solana (SOL) was on the track to log its worst daily performance on record, as SOL’s price dropped more than 40% due to its association with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of crypto-focused hedge fund Alameda Research and cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

In the midst of the unfolding events, the co-founder of Solana Labs, Anatoly Yakovenko shared a tweet suggesting that Solana had not been affected by the unfolding events. He stated; “Solana Labs, a US corp, didn’t have any assets on ftx.com, so we still have tons of runway, and luckily still a small team.”

Solana Labs, a US corp, didn’t have any assets on https://t.co/nL7jEmgrVT, so we still have tons of runway, and luckily still a small team.
— toly (@aeyakovenko) November 9, 2022

At the time of publication, Solana was trading at around $14.97, down 30.29% over the last 24 hours.

Kris Marszalek