Silvergate begins NYSE delisting process as it readies to cut 230 staff

May 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Banking

The parent company of the defunct Silvergate Bank disclosed significant staff cuts and the delisting of its securities in an SEC filing.

The parent company of the collapsed Silvergate Bank will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and 230 of its staff will be let go, Silvergate Capital has disclosed.

In a May 11 filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Silvergate Capital said 230 staff will be “separated” starting May 12. The NYSE also suspended trading in its stock, with delisting to commence “shortly.”

*A year-to-date chart of Silvergate Capital’s share price shows a nearly 93% price drop since the start of 2023. Source: Google Finance*

After the staff cut, “approximately 80 officers and employees” will be left behind to continue Silvergate Bank’s liquidation process.

More cuts are on the horizon. At least three more headcount cuts are slated, for June 30, Aug. 30 and Nov. 30 “or later,” the filing states.

Silvergate estimated staff drawdown costs would land around $13.6 million with expenses on severance, retention and bonus pays along with job placement programs.

No more financial updates

In a separate May 11 SEC filing, Silvergate said it’s unable to file legally required financial reports for the 2022 fiscal year and the first quarter of 2023 and “does not expect to be able” to file any similar reports in the future.

The firm cited “challenges” due to “continuous developments relating to the regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending,” and liabilities from legal action and the bank’s liquidation process.

Silvergate says it is done filing 10-Ks, 10-Qs and proxy statements, in large part because of "the continuous developments relating to the regulatory and other inquiries and investigations that are pending with respect to the Company and the Bank" https://t.co/1EpkRKAixt pic.twitter.com/i1D6S1daGP
— Bank Reg Blog (@bank_reg) May 11, 2023

Silvergate determined it’s in the “best interests” of stakeholders to “minimize costs and expenses” to preserve value. Some of the staff to be cut include those that are “critical” in preparing these filings, the firm added.

On March 8, Silvergate Capital first announced it would voluntarily liquidate Silvergate Bank.

Days earlier, a line-up of crypto firms, including Gemini, Coinbase, Galaxy Digital and BitStamp, severed ties with the bank as it faced a Justice Department investigation over alleged ties to the collapse of FTX.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

Crypto layoffs decelerate, with layoffs falling to 570 in February

March 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The number is a stark contrast to over 2,900 employees from the crypto industry let go in January.

Crypto industry layoffs appear to have slowed down significantly over the past month with an estimated 570 crypto employees dismissed in February, down from an estimated 2,850 in January.

Cointelegraph compiled the figures based on publicly reported layoffs and found job cuts were spread across at least 12 companies over the 28-day period, but noticeably lacked the triple-digit crypto exchange layoffs compiled in January, such as those from Coinbase, Crypto.com and Huobi.

Instead, staff cuts came in the double-digits for the most part — impacting blockchain analytics firms, blockchain and software development firms, and digital asset platforms among others.

The most recent layoffs came from crypto analytics firms Elliptic and Messari, which cut 10% and 15% of staff, respectively.

Messari founder, Ryan Selkis, tweeted on Feb. 23 that the staff cuts were due to “market headwinds” and a restructuring of their internal teams. It is estimated to have impacted around 27 employees.

1/ Yesterday we made the difficult decision to restructure several of Messari’s internal teams, leading to a 15% staff reduction.

We're grateful for the contributions of the teammates we have parted ways with, and will provide resources and connections to help them transition.
— Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) February 23, 2023

Meanwhile, an Elliptic spokesperson told DLNews on Feb. 24 that the decision to lay off 20 employees was a move to tamp down operating expenses.

It follows news from earlier in the month, when Chainalysis, another blockchain analytics company, revealed it had laid off 44 of its 900 employees, representing 4.8% of its workforce “primarily in sales.”

Neil Dundon, an Australia-based crypto recruiter told Cointelegraph “the spike in layoffs is a macro event not just in Web3 but tech in general fueled by fears of an extended recession.”

*Tech layoffs between January 2022 to February 2023. Source: Layoffs.fyi*

Data from layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi revealed there was a total of 24,572 employees laid off across 129 tech companies in February, down from 84,414 across 268 tech companies in January.

“Web3 is always going to be hit to a harder degree at least until Bitcoin decouples from the stock market. There may also be some fears of tougher regulations in web3 adding to the spike. But as always crypto is resilient.”

On the higher end of layoffs in the month, nonfungible token (NFT) company Dapper Labs and Ethereum-scaling platform Polygon Labs both dismissed around 20% of staff as a result of internal restructuring.

A big part of this strategy includes unifying all of our teams under Polygon Labs to drive more growth.

As part of this consolidation process, we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by 20% impacting multiple teams and about 100 positions.
— Sandeep | Polygon Top 3 by impact (@sandeepnailwal) February 21, 2023

In a Feb. 21 Twitter post, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal explained the move was a result of unifying all its internal teams under Polygon Labs, leading to 100 jobs being cut.

On Feb. 23, Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou confirmed another round of layoffs at his company following a first wave in November, noting it was part of restructuring “to improve our focus and efficiency.”

Immutable, the Australian firm behind another Ethereum layer-2 blockchain protocol, also reportedly cut staff during the month, reducing headcount by 11%.

Other firms to announce headcount reductions included crypto exchange Bittrex, NFT marketplace Magic Eden, institutional crypto custodian Fireblocks, software firm Protocol Labs and crypto media company The Block.

Payments company Affirm announced it was sunsetting its crypto program during the month amid a 19% staff cut, though it is not known how many employees from its crypto unit were dismissed as a result.

Kevin Gibson, founder of blockchain recruitment firm Proof of Search agreed that the pace of layoffs appears to have slowed compared to January.

“Jan was big as it followed boards [and venture capital] looking [at] 2022 results and preparing for the worst,” he said. “We have seen less laid-off candidates this month.”

“Companies are still building great products and the current teams are really stretched so more layoffs would be cutting into muscle right now for many companies.”

Gibson however warns that the United States securities regulator could still “bring about more pain,” while continued press coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse “is having an effect on the public perception of the sector and mainstream adoption.”

Matrixport Joins Growing List of Crypto and Blockchain Companies Letting Employees Go

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Huobi Layoffs Spark Controversy and Speculation, Justin Sun Claims Everything Is Fine

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GameStop to drop crypto efforts as Q3 losses near $95M

December 9, 2022 Coin Telegraph

GameStop to drop crypto efforts as Q3 losses near M

Coin Telegraph

The gaming company has stopped its cryptocurrency-related focuses but is seemingly still pushing ahead with its NFT and blockchain plans.

Gaming retailer GameStop says it will no longer focus any efforts on cryptocurrencies, after amounting $94.7 million in net losses in the third quarter and laying off staff from its digital assets department.

On a Dec. 7 earnings call GameStop CEO, Matt Furlong, said it “proactively minimized exposure to cryptocurrency” over the year and “does not currently hold a material balance of any token,” adding:

“Although we continue to believe there is long-term potential for digital assets in the gaming world, we have not and will not risk meaningful stockholder capital in this space.”

Earlier this year the company said it was looking at crypto, along with nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3 applications, as avenues for growth calling these spaces "increasingly relevant for gamers of the future."

Going forward it will shift focus to collectibles, gaming and pre-owned items.

Its moves in the NFT space are still seemingly going ahead as it says its “also pursuing, and plan to continue to pursue, other business and strategic initiatives associated with digital assets and blockchain technology,” according to a Dec. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Cointelegraph contacted GameStop to confirm that it would continue efforts on its NFT marketplace but did not receive a response.

GameStop has pushed numerous Web3-related products, the most recent being its NFT marketplace that went live on ImmutableX, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, on Oct. 31 following a July public beta.

Prior to its NFT marketplace, in May the company launched a beta self-custody crypto wallet and beta NFT marketplace on Loopring in March, Loopring is another Ethereum-based layer-2 protocol.

It also partnered with the now bankrupt crypto exchange FTX US in September aimed at bringing more customers to crypto and working together on e-commerce and online marketing initiatives. It ended ties with the exchange on Nov. 11 soon after it filed for bankruptcy.

It’s Q3 losses slightly narrowed compared to the second quarter however, which saw losses of $108.7 million. It’s also a year-on-year improvement for GameStop, which posted a $105.4 million loss in Q3 2021.

Staff cuts reportedly hit crypto department

On Dec. 5 GameStop cut multiple staff in its third round of layoffs for 2022 which Furlong confirmed in the earnings call.

Earlier reports suggested that the team working on the company's blockchain and NFT projects was the most impacted, however, Furlong did not specify where the staff cuts were concentrated during the call.

Earlier posts from people claiming to be former employees have shed some light. Daniel Williams, lead software engineer at GameStop wrote in a Dec. 5 LinkedIn post:

“Another big round of layoffs from GameStop currently in progress… E-commerce Product and Engineers... Lots of them.”

Other posts from those claiming to be affected by the cuts also appeared on LinkedIn at the time. Brandon Jenniges, a former iOS and blockchain engineer posted he “had a great time getting a deep dive into Ethereum and learning about many new things in the crypto space.”

“I and the rest of the mobile team were let go,” wrote former developer Christopher Fields.

In July, the company terminated its CFO Michael Recupero and a number of staff at its video game-focused magazine Game Informer.

Nifty News: China’s lockdown protest NFTs emerge, Candy Digital cuts staff, and more

November 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BAYC

Two collections have appeared on NFT marketplace OpenSea depicting images and art related to the rare widespread protests in China over its lockdown policies.

China’s COVID-19 protests cemented as NFTs

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) depicting the ongoing protests in China against the country’s tough zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy have found their way to the NFT marketplace OpenSea.

At least two collections have been created in November, the first is a Polygon (MATIC)-based collection called “Silent Speech” featuring 135 NFTs depicting images of protesters, signage, graffiti and even social media screenshots related to the ongoing protests up for auction starting at 0.01 Ether (ETH), or just under $11.50.

*A Silent Speech NFT titled “Beihang University” (translated) shows an image of multiple tealight candles within surgical masks. Candles are an often used symbol of remembrance.*

Another collection titled “Blank Paper Movement” of 36 Ethereum-based NFTs with a floor price of 10 ETH, or nearly $11,800, features a more artistic take as the images of the protests appears to be painted.

Holding a blank sheet of paper has emerged as a symbol representing the suppression of speech in the rare and widespread protests which have flared up across China since Nov. 14, starting with residents of Guangzhou, one of China’s biggest cities, tearing down police barricades in response to COVID-19 related measures.

Demonstrators in Beijing hold blank pieces of paper in a rally against the communist government.
This idea developed during a student movement by a group of high school students in HK. pic.twitter.com/jRmnQ50Mlz
— 鄉港 (@sabaocean) November 28, 2022

The protests intensified on Nov. 24 as a fire that day in a high-rise building in the northeastern city of Urumqi killed 10 people.

Some Chinese internet users believe residents weren’t able to escape due to extreme lockdown measures which have included authorities wiring or welding doors shut.

Candy Digital lays off 100 staff

NFT company Candy Digital has reportedly laid off a sizeable portion of its workforce amid turbulent crypto market conditions and a massive dip in NFT trading volumes this year.

More than one-third of the company’s roughly 100 employees were cut according to a Nov. 28 report from the sports industry outlet Sportico.

It’s unclear the reason for the layoffs and if any particular departments were affected as Candy Digital has not publicly addressed the layoffs. The former community content manager at Candy Digital, Matthew Muntner, in a Nov. 28 Twitter post publicly confirmed he was part of the staff cuts:

I hate that I have to share this as much as I loved my job at @CandyDigital but I was part of the layoffs that occurred earlier today.

I am quickly looking for a new role in Community Management, Graphic Design, or related Marketing.

Thanks, Candy Fam for one hell of a ride ❤️
— Muntner (@muntnerdesigns) November 28, 2022

Cointelegraph contacted Candy Digital for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Candy Digital was launched in June 2021, backed by sports e-commerce store Fanatics, crypto-friendly entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz.

The company quickly gained partnerships with sports leagues including Major League Baseball, NASCAR’s collaborative Race Team Alliance, and several college athletes. It was valued at $1.5 billion in Oct. 2021 following a $100 million funding round.

Candy Digital’s layoffs follow others across technology firms such as NFT protocol Metaplex’s Nov. 17 cuts of “several members” of its team, Meta’s Nov. 9 layoff of 11,000 employees, and Flow blockchain developer Dapper Labs’ Nov. 2 layoffs of roughly 130 employees.

Bored & Hungry restaurant runs pop-up at Phillippine blockchain week

The Long Beach-based NFT-themed burger restaurant Bored & Hungry has set up a pop-up shop at the Philippine Blockchain Week which kicked off on Nov. 28 local time.

It’s the first time the restaurant has operated in South East Asia, the brand also operated a pop-up french fry stand at NFT.London in early November.

Grilling in Manila for 3 days only!

Home of the Trill Burger, America’s best burger of 2022: @BorednHungry is bringing their apes and burgers to Manila! pic.twitter.com/RuDBy6Ykjg
— Philippine Blockchain week (@philblockchain) November 27, 2022

The restaurant first opened in April and is themed using the owner's intellectual property of his owned Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht club NFTs and accepted ETH and ApeCoin (APE) as payment.

Around two months after its opening, in June, the store inexplicably stopped accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment, likely due to the drop in crypto prices.

Ripple’s XRP Ledger hits new record NFT sale

Ripple’s XRP Ledger blockchain has recorded a new record NFT sale, with an XPUNK NFT — a clone of the popular Ethereum-native CryptoPunk NFTs — selling for 108,900 XRP (XRP), about $44,000 at the time of sale on Nov. 25.

The #XRPL has a new record! An @XRPLPUNKS NFT just got sold for 108900 $XRP (44000 USD).
This is just the beginning for #NFTonXRP.
— onXRP.com (@onXRPdotcom) November 25, 2022

The sale was a result of an open auction with over 20 people in a Discord voice chat according to the XPUNKS official Twitter account. It refused to disclose the purchaser but said “the community knows who it is.”

The XRP Ledger introduced NFTs on Oct. 31 with the introduction of the XLS-20 standard that was first proposed on May 25, 2021, the NFTs feature “automatic royalties” for creators.

More Nifty News

The community-led decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) made up of ApeCoin holders launched its own NFT marketplace on Nov. 24 featuring only Yuga Labs-backed collections.

Following the surprise win of the Saudi Arabian soccer team at the FIFA World Cup over Argentina on Nov. 22, the floor price of a Saudi Arabian-themed NFT collection unrelated to the team jumped by 52.6% with some appearing to view the tokens as an indirect way to bet on the success of soccer teams.

Meta reportedly plans ‘large-scale layoffs,’ but what of its metaverse division?

November 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

artificial intelligence

As of the end of September, Meta had more than 87,000 employees — a large proportion of which is said to work in the Reality Labs division.

Social media and tech giant Meta is reportedly gearing up for “large-scale layoffs” this week amid rising costs and a recent collapse of its share price.

According to Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on Nov. 6 citing people familiar with the matter, the planned layoffs could impact thousands of employees in a broad range of divisions across Meta’s 87,000-strong workforce.

It is not currently understood whether the firm's Reality Labs division, which registered a $3.7 billion loss in the third quarter, would see staff cuts.

Last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company would be focusing its investment on “a small number of high-priority growth areas," including its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Discovery Engine and its advertisement and business messaging platforms in addition to the Metaverse, stating:

“So that means some teams will grow meaningfully, but most other teams will stay flat or shrink over the next year [...] In aggregate, we expect to end 2023 as either roughly the same size, or even a slightly smaller organization than we are today.”

During the earnings call, the billionaire entrepreneur appeared to double down on the firm’s investments in these areas, saying he believes they’re “on the right track with these investments” and should “keep investing heavily in these areas.”

The report comes only a week after Meta reported its third-quarter earnings, which missed revenue expectations and saw a rise in its operating costs. Its stock price also took a battering, with shares in Meta currently priced at $90.79 — down 7.56% over the last five days and 73.19% year-on-year, according to Yahoo Finance.

The company appears to still be actively hiring into its metaverse division regardless, with its list of job openings revealing 38 of its 413 listings are related to Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.

Cointelegraph has reached out to Meta for clarification and whether there would be any changes to its metaverse division but did not receive an immediate response.

Staff Cuts