The global recession caused by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic followed by a Ukraine-Russia war is not sparing anyone. Businesses in all industries are suffering and have to lay off thousands of employees. One of the industries that were hit the most is the technology sector with many companies letting go of hundreds of specialists. The recent tragic suicide of the CFO of BB&B is indicative of how hard many companies were hit by the recession.
Unfortunately for all of us, the situation may get worse before it gets better. All industries are preparing for what may come during the winter when energy prices will spike causing massive disruptions in national economies and the lives of millions of people in the EU and Africa. The crypto industry will likely have to contract too squeezing out some weaker projects and leaving many without any funding.
Since May of 2022, the crypto market lost over 55% of its market cap and fell to $1.27 trillion from over $3.05 trillion in May. It was a dramatic crash, but it mirrored what happened in other financial markets. Sadly, the rate of adoption is too slow for people to think of Bitcoin and Ethereum as substitutes for the US dollar. On the other hand, it seems that the crypto industry suffered less in terms of employee count. Companies are choosing to look into the future with optimism and hope to grow despite the crypto winter.
Coinbase announced that it will be hiring fewer people and cutting down some of its open positions to ensure that the exchange can make ends meet. Despite its struggles, the exchange does not want to let go of any employees and aims to continue expanding and restarting the hiring process after the recovery of the market.
FTX said that it will not only avoid any firings but will expand its staff with some new positions. The CEO of the exchange said that the company has strong fundamentals and a sound expansion plan. Many DeFi and crypto projects enjoyed unsubstantiated growth during the long bull run, but now they cannot sustain the rate of expansion during the crypto winter when funds are limited.
We have companies that can and will survive this storm. Many will come out stronger.