Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis is shedding a chunk of its workforce, the second time it’s doing so within this year. The news comes in a difficult period for the whole industry which saw a number of such moves in 2023, against the backdrop of a persistent bear market and increased regulatory pressure.
Crypto Analytics Company Chainalysis Parts Ways With 15% of Its Employees
Chainalysis is laying off around 150 people, or a little more than 15% of its staff, Forbes revealed quoting an email from CEO Michael Gronager sent to employees earlier this week. The job cuts come amid ongoing challenges in the crypto space that have been reducing commercial demand for the firm’s products, according to the report.
Most of the layoffs will be in the marketing and business development departments which are focused on the private sector as the company is concentrating on more stable government contracts, the article detailed. Madeleine Kennedy, vice president of communications, was quoted as stating:
This reorganization reflects our ongoing strategic shifts to balance our growth aspirations.
Founded in 2014, Chainalysis has established itself as a go-to platform for the U.S. and other governments as well as crypto businesses like exchanges, when they need to trace cryptocurrency transfers and identify transacting parties for investigations or compliance purposes.
The New York-headquartered company had around 900 workers after a previous round of job cuts earlier this year which affected less than 5% of its staff, according to Chainalysis. The latest layoffs add to a wave of job losses across the industry in 2023.
For example, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, reportedly laid off 1,000 employees this past summer, including two rounds of job cuts at its American subsidiary, while a number of executives left Binance US and the crypto giant’s other entities as it finds itself under heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Quoted by The Block and Bloomberg, Kennedy also emphasized that Chainalysis “continues to be well positioned for long-term success,” and remains committed to its “mission to build trust in blockchains among government agencies, financial institutions, and cryptocurrency businesses.”
Around 70% of the revenue of Chainalysis is currently being provided by the public sector, Forbes noted in its report, pointing out that the crypto analytics company is now looking to expand on the investigative power of its core offerings seeking to cater to the future needs of governments.
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Source: Bitcoin
