Singapore’s Amber Group latest crypto firm to lay off staff

Amber Group is continuing to lay off staff worldwide following turmoil in the crypto sector after the collapse of the FTX exchange.

The Singapore-based group has also put off a planned round of fundraising, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

The company had planned to finish downsizing its workforce in November, but the ongoing crypto winter has forced it to make more cuts. The report said the company’s European staff is now in the single digits. 

Amber was valued at $3 billion in February this year following a funding round. 

The collapse of crypto exchange FTX last month further shook confidence in digital assets and has itself triggered a series of further bankruptcy filings. BlockFi and Bitfront have filed for Chapter 11 protection, while Genesis has been forced to publicly deny it is planning a similar move following rumours it was in difficulties.

Crypto winter continues

Earlier this week, it came to light that Bybit and Swyftx were also laying off staff due to the crisis in the markets.

Dubai-based Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou tweeted on Sunday that the cuts at his firm would affect 30 percent of the staff worldwide. He said the company was refocusing its efforts given the deepening bear market. 

Australian exchange Swyftx said it would cut 90 team members, representing 35 percent of its staff. 

The latest layoffs add to 75 cuts in August. 

Recent developments caused prominent economist Paul Krugman to write in a New York Times op-ed that the crypto market may not recover. 

He argues that very few digital assets had managed to prove their worth in the real world. 

While few have gone as far as Krugman in pronouncing the death of the crypto sector, other major names have predicted more trouble ahead. Standard Chartered has said that investors have not yet factored in the potential for a drop of a further 70 percent in Bitcoin prices next year.