SNEAK PEEK
- Swyftx has shared that the reason behind laying off the staff is the possibility of a major decrease in trade volumes globally in next year’s first half besides more damage possible from FTX’s collapse.
- The company shared holding customer funds 1:1 and that they do not lend assets of customers to third parties.
- Areas such as customer support services, security and compliance won’t he harmed.
Swyftx, Australian crypto exchange, has laid off its 90 staff members as a result of the FTX crash besides a likely collapse in trading volume worldwide in 2023.
Alex Harper, Swyftx co-CEO, shared the news on December 5 through a statement mentioning that even though the firm is not exposed to FTX, it is not safe from the collapse over the bankrupt exchange.
Harper added that they have to prepare themselves in advance regarding the possibility of future notable drops in trade volume worldwide during H1 in the coming year and the possibility for even more unpredictable events.
A spokesperson for the exchange shared that the 40% staff cut was in prediction of decline in trading volumes even though the numbers spiked in the last month.
Harper said that the harsh decision was important to survive the extended crypto winter. Adding on he said that though they are well-positioned to events like FTX collapse, they are not different from the market and must act quickly and early by shrinking their team size.
The spokesperson repeated that the balance sheet of the company is intact even after being indirectly impacted by the crash of FTX.
Harper continued that the firm will turn more careful regarding its decisions and cutting the staff will help with operational costs.
The spokesperson added that the company is strong in terms of the revenue but isn’t interested in taking any risk after the FTX incident. Also, they are careful regarding the costs for 2023.
The research and development team of the company has been affected the most by the staff cuts. In August this year, 74 employees were laid off, which equaled 21% of the staff.
Harper at the time said that they grew extremely fast in 2021 when the market was at its peak; however, they are way larger than they must be to function and expand.
