Coinbase-backed Rain Financial dismisses more employees as digital asset market slump continues

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Rain Financial Inc., a Bahrain-based digital asset exchange, is laying off hundreds of employees, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Citing persons familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified, the report notes that the company has communicated with the affected employees. According to the sources, the exchange will cut a significant portion of its workforce as Rain currently has around 400 employees.

The Coinbase-backed company cites the persisting price slump in the digital asset market. In a statement, Joseph Dallago, Rain’s co-founder and CEO, noted that the volatility in the industry has resulted in “unfortunate changes.”

“The volatility in the industry has been difficult to properly plan for, which has resulted in the unfortunate changes that we have had to make today,” Dallago said.

Meanwhile, this is the second time Rain, one of the biggest exchanges in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) region, is reducing its employee headcount this year. Back in June, the exchange laid off an undisclosed number of employees.

“As cryptocurrencies and global markets continue to slow down, this has, in turn, impacted businesses across the globe. We have had to make tough decisions to be able to navigate through this period of uncertainty and we can confirm we have downsized our Rain workforce,” Dallago said at the time.

More jobs at digital asset firms are on the line as market downturn continues 

Rain Financial has not been the only firm to engage in the second round of employee layoffs. Previously, U.S.-based exchanges Gemini and Crypto.com showed the second set of their employees the door stating that they were cutting costs in preparation for a possible extended bear market.

In the case of the Winklevoss twins-owned Gemini, the exchange slashed another 7% of employees after a previous 10% downsizing. However, according to data from CryptoPresales, an ICO tracking resource, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) still holds the record for the highest amount of layoffs.

The exchange has laid off about 1,100 employees so far this year. Bybit, Huobi, and Crypto.com follow Coinbase. Collectively, digital asset firms have fired more than 5,000 employees, with June being the month with the most layoff activity.

With the global digital asset market capitalization sitting at under $1 trillion, far below its all-time high of around $3 trillion, more digital asset firms may continue to succumb to financial pressure.

Follow CoinGeek’s Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the stream of groups from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple, Ethereum, FTX and Tether—who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for naïve (and even experienced) players in the market.