CoinFLEX announces staff layoffs amid survival efforts

CoinFLEX co-founders Sudhu Arumugam and Mark Lamb say the goal is to be lean staff-wise and to remain ‘right-sized’ should potential acquisition proposals come in.

Crypto exchange CoinFLEX has announced that it has cut its headcount by a significant number amid ongoing efforts to bring the embattled company back to its feet.

The exchange, which is in a tussle with one of its customers over an unpaid loan said to be about $84 million, says the move to lay off so many of its staff members is informed by the need to be lean “staff-wise” as they navigate the murky waters they found themselves in June.

“The staff cuts and non-staff costs that we have made will reduce our cost base by approximately 50-60%. The majority of the team that remain are focused on product and technology, which remains the core of our business,” the exchange’s co-founders Sudhu Arumugam and Mark Lamb wrote in a blog post.

Remain ‘right-sized’ for any potential acquisition

According to the co-founders, the layoffs touched almost every section of the platform’s operations and impacted employees across various geographies.

The company will, however, continue to monitor its costs even as they target efficiency, with plans to start scaling on the staff once business hit levels where volumes permit hiring.

In the meantime, CoinFLEX intends to “remain right-sized for any entity considering a potential acquisition of or partnership opportunity.”

CoinFLEX announced partial customer withdrawals had resumed mid this month following a freeze that had also hit major crypto lender Celsius Network and other beleaguered crypto firms amid market woes in a biting crypto winter.

Other big casualties of the market contagion are Three Arrows Capital, Vauld, Voyager Digital and Zimplex.