The cryptocurrency hedge fund BlockTower Capital has lost two top executives — they left the firm without a public statement. The Block reports this, citing sources.
According to them, the managing partner Michael Bucella left his post recently. He joined BlockTower Capital in January 2018 after working at Goldman Sachs.
However, at the time of writing, his Twitter profile still lists the hedge fund. On his LinkedIn page, BlockTower Capital is listed as his current employer.
The hedge fund also saw the departure of the chief investment officer and head of the Asia-Pacific region, Steve Lee. According to his profile on LinkedIn, in 2018 he moved from the Goldman Sachs Tokyo office to BlockTower Capital, where he worked until September 2022.
The reasons for their departure are unknown. Company representatives did not respond to the publication’s request.
Against a backdrop of weak market conditions, cryptocurrency companies have begun layoffs. Since the start of 2023, Coinbase, ConsenSys, Gemini, Luno, Matrixport, Chainalysis, Blockchain.com, Genesis Trading and Bittrex have announced layoffs.
The company behind the decentralized Filecoin platform, Protocol Labs announced layoffs of 89 employees (about 21% of its staff).
The blockchain platform Polygon has decided to lay off around 100 employees.
In February, it was reported that the crypto-focused hedge fund Galois Capital had closed after the events surrounding the FTX collapse.