KuCoin: 30% staff layoffs part of ‘biannual appraisals’

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KuCoin digital asset exchange has disputed claims of mass layoffs that reportedly affected over 300 employees.

On July 25, Chinese digital asset industry reporter Colin Wu reported that the Seychelles-based exchange was laying off 30% of its 1,000 employees. KuCoin has reportedly suffered a big blow after the New York Attorney General sued it for non-compliance.

Now forced to be stringent on KYC measures it has ignored for years, the exchange has reportedly recorded a massive dip in trading volume and profitability, necessitating job cuts, according to the report.

SCOOP: Following Binance, cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin will lay off 30% of its workforce. Confirmed by more than three internal employees. KuCoin has nearly 1,000 employees. The main reason is that the strict KYC policy was launched after being sued by the United States, which…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 25, 2023

KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu has refuted the claims, saying the layoffs were part of regular company assessment. The exchange is “operating smoothly,” and in the first half of the year, it recorded “strong growth in users and new listings, and our talented team is expanding steadily,” Lyu claimed.

“The crypto world changes fast. To stay on top, we regularly evaluate our [organization] structure based on employee performance and company development. So, it is not layoffs, and it is all about making the organization more dynamic and competitive,” the CEO stated.

3/ The crypto world changes fast. To stay on top, we regularly evaluate our org structure based on employee performance and company development. So it is not layoffs, and it is all about making the organization more dynamic and competitive.

— Johnny_KuCoin (@lyu_johnny) July 25, 2023

A spokesperson for the exchange also disputed the report, claiming any dismissals were part of a regular re-evaluation.

“We did not initiate any alleged layoff plan. As part of a normal process of organization development, we keep doing biannual appraisals to keep up with the competitive market,” the spokesperson told one news outlet.

However, neither denied reports that KuCoin dismissed hundreds of employees.

In its half-year report, KuCoin revealed it had recorded 26% growth YoY in user numbers to hit 29 million. Latin America recorded the strongest growth at 70%, with Africa at 38%, Europe at 34%, and Asia recording 28% user number growth.

The report also claimed that the exchange’s headcount had shot up, with 300 new members joining the team.

KuCoin joins Binance, which has recently laid off over 1,000 employees. Some reports claim that this number could hit 3,000 by the end of the year as the global regulatory crackdown finally catches up with Changpeng Zhao.

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