Nansen Cuts 30% of Staff Following ‘Brutal’ Year for Crypto

Nansen has become the latest company in the beleaguered cryptocurrency sector to cut jobs.

The blockchain analytics provider announced Tuesday (May 30) that it is cutting 30% of its staff after years of rapidly scaling.

In a statement shared on Twitter, CEO Alex Svanevik said that growth “led the organization to taking on surface area that’s not truly part of Nansen’s core strategy.” He also said the past year has been “brutal” for the crypto sector.

“Although we’ve seen diversification of revenues via enterprise and institutional customers in the last year, our cost base is too high relative to where the company is today,” Svanevik said in the statement. “We do have several years of runway, but our priority is to build a sustainable business.”

Nansen’s job cuts come midway through a year that began with a wave of crypto sector layoffs triggered by a downturn in the market and exacerbated by the collapse of FTX. Coinbase cut 20% of its staff in January, its third round of layoffs since June of the previous year. That month also saw crypto lender Genesis declare bankruptcy after laying off 30% of its staff.

The industry has also faced increased attention in recent months as regulators around the world unveil new guidelines for digital assets.

For example, global securities watchdog the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) last week debuted the first international blueprint for regulating the crypto sector. Officials from the group said they hope their ideas lead regulators to be more straightforward in their approach to crypto.

Around the same time, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released its Consultation Conclusions on the Proposed Regulatory Requirements for Virtual Asset Trading Platform Operators Licensed by the SFC, which detailed the special administrative region’s rulebook in advance of a licensing regime for crypto that goes into effect June 1.

“Hong Kong has been taking strides to redevelop itself into a hub for cryptocurrencies, even as the digital asset sector and regulators butt heads elsewhere in Asia,” PYMNTS wrote May 23. “Crypto remains banned outright across mainland China.”

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