SNEAK PEEK
- Solana NFT protocol maker Metaplex announced company-wide layoffs in the wake of FTX collapse.
- The number of employees laid off is not disclosed, but this happened following the worsening market conditions.
- CEO Stephen Hess addressed that the situation requires a more conservative approach moving forward.
In a recent announcement, it was revealed that the Solana NFT protocol maker, Metaplex, has undergone a firm-wide round of layoffs. This came following the collapse of the FTX exchange and the contagion that it induced in the market, which is continuing to spread across the Web3 ecosystem.
(1/7) Today we made the difficult decision to part ways with several members of the Metaplex Studios team.
— stephen.sol (@meta_hess) November 17, 2022
Metaplex laid off an undisclosed number of employees due to the worsening market conditions for crypto in general and for Solana in particular. The news was brought forward by CEO Stephen Hess, who released a statement regarding the same, that said even though their treasury was not impacted directly following the collapse of the FTX exchange, the indirect impact on the market is quite significant.
Hess addressed that the situation demands from us that we take a more conservative approach while moving forward. Back in January, Metaplex completed a $46 million fundraise and acquired funding from the likes of Jump Crypto, Multicoin Capital, and NBA legend Michael Jordan.
FTX exchange imploded last week, leading to the taking down of all the assets and projects that were associated with Solana. Following the collapse of the FTX exchange, Solana plunged a staggering 60% in value. Even though the Solana Foundation did lose tens of millions of dollars in investments related to FTX, the relationship between Bankman-Friend and the network has impacted the Solana ecosystem above everything else.
The layoff was announced late Thursday and marked yet another data point in the manifold. Despite the fact that there was no direct financial exposure to the exchange, the reputational damage incurred by the exchange and its founder appears to be wreaking havoc across the industry.
It was not long enough before it was announced that Solana NFTs are now becoming the new meta, as a majority of them were powered by Metaplex.
