BlockFi, Coinbase and Crypto.com Announce Job Cuts as Crypto Winter Takes Hold
BlockFi, Crypto.com and Coinbase are the latest crypto exchanges to announce job cuts as crypto’s price slump becomes increasingly entrenched. BlockFi will cut about 20% of its staff – about 170 people, blaming the “dramatic shift in macroeconomic conditions worldwide.” Crypto.com will reduce its workforce by about 5% — 260 people, and Coinbase will layoff around 1,100 employees. Earlier in June Coinbase rescinded about 300 new hire offers, and Gemini laid off 10% of its workforce. Only Binance is bucking the trend and actively hiring. [Read more]
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin-Backed Loan Risks Margin Call Amid Fall
MicroStrategy may need to post additional collateral for a bitcoin-backed loan as the bitcoin’s price tests a key price level of $21,000 flagged by the company. The software firm controlled by bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor had used its vast bitcoin holdings to secure a $205 million loan in March to buy even more cryptocurrency. [Read more] But as the value of that collateral initially worth around $820 million falls to about half that, the company may need to provide more capital to back the loan. According to Bloomberg, Microstrategy owns about 130,000 bitcoins purchased at an average price of $30,700. With bitcoin now trading around $22,000, Microstrategy is probably about $1 billion in the hole. [Read more]
El Salvador’s bitcoin holdings down 50% as minister says risk is ‘extremely minimal’
El Salvador’s 2,301 bitcoin stockpile is now worth less than 50% following the latest crypto market crash. The average purchase price was around $45,000, putting unrealized losses at about $50 million at current bitcoin prices. However, the looses pose an “extremely minimal” fiscal risk, representing 0.5% of the government’s national general budget, according to Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya. [Read more]
Upcoming events I’m affiliated with:
The CBDC Think Tank is hosting a CBDC Papers Lecture Series on June 17 and 24 starting at 7am EST and running for 4 hours each day. [View list of papers and register here]