Bybit CEO cites company growth concerns, expected to lay off 30% global headcount

Crypto exchange Bybit revealed this week in an internal letter that it will reduce its headcount.

In the letter, founder and CEO Ben Zhou wrote that while the organisation’s size had grown exponentially, business growth has not grown in the same way. As such, operational efficiency has decreased despite the company’s growing size.  

The headcount reduction is targeted at removing overlapping functions and building smaller but more agile teams to improve efficiency, and the company will review functions and roles for combination or adjustment.

Starting from this week, some of the functions and roles will be reviewed for combination or adjustment. This is to ensure us (to stay) focused, stay agile and execute faster.

This will affect some of the existing team members unavoidably. It is one of the toughest decisions I have ever had to make in my life, to have to part with great team members who we value and love.

– Ben Zhou, founder and CEO of Bybit

He also assured employees that Bybit will offer severance packages and help them thorough the Employee Assistance Program.

According to Wu Blockchain, around 20 to 30 per cent of employees are expected to be laid off. 

This follows a period of rapid organisation expansion, where Bybit has expanded from hundred of employees to over 2,000 within two years.

The Dubai-based crypto exchange claims more than five million users a month, and has presence in 160 countries. The company also signed a US$150 million sponsorship deal with F1 team Red Bull Racing last year.

Bybit spokespersons have also defended the move, pointing to a need to reduce costs as a result of the bear market that is currently present in the crypto ecosystem.

Other crypto companies have also stated that they are reducing their workforce, with Coinbase cutting their workforce by 18 per cent, Crypto.com by five per cent, BlockFi by 20 percent, and Gemini by 10 per cent.

Featured Image Credit: Mr Backwards via Medium