Copper to cut up to 15% of staff

The cryptocurrency custodian Copper plans to lay off up to 15% of staff amid challenging market conditions. CoinDesk reports.

There are just over 300 people employed at the company. According to a company spokesperson, the layoff process has just begun and a precise number of those to be affected cannot yet be named.

“After the FTX situation, demand for collateral-management solutions surged. The time has come to make the scalability of the business the main priority and to focus on revenue sources that matter most to us,” said Copper CEO Dmitry Tokarev.

Last week the company отказалась from its corporate project to develop software for banks and funds. Instead, Copper will focus on the institutional custodial product—ClearLoop.

“Given the current tough conditions in the crypto market, the unstable regulatory environment in the United States, and the desire to focus on strategic offerings, the company intends to optimise the business,” the statement said.

Tokarev forecasts that by the end of the current quarter ClearLoop will have access to around 30% of total crypto-market liquidity as more exchanges integrate into the project. By the end of the year this figure is expected to rise to 50%, said Copper’s chief executive.

Earlier reports of layoffs included Coinbase, ConsenSys, Genesis Trading, Blockchain.com, Gemini, Luno, Matrixport, Chainalysis, Bittrex, Messari and other crypto companies.

According to CoinGecko’s report, in January 2,806 people lost their jobs in the digital-asset space. 84% of layoffs were at crypto exchanges.

In May 2022, Copper launched an institutional NFT custody service.

Subsequently it emerged that Barclays, the British financial group, acquired a stake in the custody company.