Binance, Kraken to Continue Expansion Plans Bucking Trend of Crypto Layoff Announcements

Amid news of a number of big-name crypto-focused firms announcing mass layoffs, popular exchanges — Kraken and Binance, are determined to break the norm by going on a hiring spree. To kick off the race for talent, Binance, which is currently the largest crypto exchange by trade volume, has announced that it's hiring for 2,000 new positions while Kraken, the fourth-largest exchange, has issued a statement saying it was looking forward to hiring more than 500 people in the rest of 2022.

Earlier this week, Crypto.com announced job cuts amounting to nearly 5 percent of its workforce, while BlockFi said it plans to lay off about 20 percent of its staff. Following those two announcements, major crypto exchange Coinbase also announced a reduction of 1,100 employees, or 18 percent of its global headcount.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, often referred to as just CZ within the crypto community, was quick to taunt competitors who were losing people instead of hiring them. He tweeted that while Binance wasn't making flashy moves like Super Bowl ads earlier this year, it was shoring itself up for growth later in 2022.

Responding to speculation that Kraken will reduce its headcount in preparation for the crypto winter, the exchange noted in a blog post that it will not be changing its hiring plans for the year.

"We have not adjusted our hiring plan, and we do not intend to make any layoffs. We have over 500 roles to fill during the remainder of the year, and believe bear markets are fantastic at weeding out the applicants chasing hype from the true believers in our mission," said the San-Francisco-based company.

The ongoing decline in the fast-growing cryptocurrency space is affecting players in different ways. While the crypto market has fallen below $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 77,68,270 crore) in value, major exchanges and coins such as Terra and Celsius have suffered a substantial drop in both investor confidence and valuations.