Kraken announcement on October 30, a series of layoffs was described as “organizational changes” intended to streamline operations and refocus its mission and named Arjun Sethi as co-CEO.
Sethi is the co-founder of venture capital fund Tribe Capital.
The exchange stated:
“Making organizational change is never easy, and we understand their profound impact on people’s lives. We deeply appreciate those who have helped us get to this point and for their many contributions, and we will support them during this transition.
New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac reported that two people familiar with the matter said the firing impacted 15% of Kraken’s workforce.
Kraken’s last round of layoffs took place in November 2022, when the trade Ihelp 1,100 employees, or 30% of its workforce.
Organizational Efforts
According to the announcement, the structural changes aim to reduce bureaucracy, eliminate layers of management and re-emphasize product innovation, data-driven decision-making and accountability within its sales teams. engineering, product and design.
The exchange explained that its journey beyond $1 billion in revenue had inadvertently created management silos, with departments operating in isolation within separate profit and loss frameworks.
Thus, Kraken emphasized the need to reduce these “organizational layers”, ensuring that key contributors focus on building and innovating rather than managing.
Additionally, Kraken noted that the remodeled structure will be “simpler and faster” and enable more agile, customer-centric decisions. It will also allow executives to improve the company’s global crypto offerings.
The exchange claimed it remained committed to driving global crypto adoption despite the layoffs, positioning itself as a bridge between traditional finance and the digital world.
The layoffs come less than a week after the exchange announcement its layer 2 blockchain ink based on Ethereum. The network will leverage Optimism’s infrastructure technology through 25 million OP tokens. dealing with the Optimism Foundation.
Notably, this is the third round of layoffs among crypto companies this week. Blockchain service provider Consensys laid off 20% of its staff on Oct. 29, citing restructuring efforts.
Meanwhile, Antonio Juliano, CEO of dYdX announced that DEX reduce its workforce by 35% as part of its decision to “return to startup mode”.
