Crypto Exchange Kraken Cuts Staff in Move to Be 'Leaner and Faster'

American crypto exchange Kraken has laid off staff, making it the third major company in the space to do so this week—despite a surging Bitcoin price that nearly touched an all-time high on Tuesday.

The San Francisco-based exchange also said that Arjun Sethi has joined as co-CEO alongside David Ripley. Sethi is also co-founder and Chairman at Tribe Capital, and previously was part of the executive team at web pioneer Yahoo. Alongside the appointment, Kraken framed the layoffs as a pivot for the crypto firm.

"To continue forging our path ahead and put Kraken in contention to become the largest crypto platform in the world, we need to be leaner and faster," the company said in a Wednesday statement.

Kraken did not give further details on the amount of staff cut, and declined further comment to Decrypt beyond pointing to its published statement. New York Times tech reporter Mike Issac said on Twitter (aka X) that Kraken had cut 15% of its staff, citing two people at the company.

Ethereum software giant Consensys on Tuesday announced it had laid off 20% of its global workforce, or 163 employees. Later that day, decentralized exchange dYdX's CEO Antonio Juliano said the company had cut 35% of its staff, but did not specify how many people were impacted by the move.

With a surging Bitcoin price and bullish vibes across the industry, what’s driving the cost-cutting? When crypto prices are up, firms in the space tend to be fatter due to bigger profits, with layoffs more likely during prolonged bear markets.

Consensys founder Joseph Lubin said in a statement Tuesday that part of the reason for the layoffs was “ongoing regulatory uncertainty” and “many millions of dollars” spent as a result of legal cases. The company has faced a number of legal battles with Wall Street’s biggest regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Kraken is another crypto company that has locked horns with the watchdog: Last year, the company agreed to pay the SEC a $30 million fine and halt its cryptocurrency staking service for U.S. clients, following a lawsuit from the regulator.

Despite the cuts, the company is expanding with new products. Last week, Kraken announced a new Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, dubbed Ink.

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.

Edited by Andrew Hayward