The job reductions at Crypto.com were “in no way related to performance,” the company assured.

Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder & CEO of crypto exchange Crypto.com said in an update Friday that the company was cutting its global workforce by about 20%.

Marszalek laid the blame for the layoffs at the door of several factors including economic headwinds, unforeseen industry events, negative economy developments, and FTX.

He wrote: “We grew ambitiously at the start of 2022, building on our incredible momentum and aligning with the trajectory of the broader industry. That trajectory changed rapidly with a confluence of negative economic developments. The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macro economic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry.”

The CEO said the company had built up a user base of 70 million users worldwide, a strong balance sheet, a focus on prudent financial management, and a unique position within the industry as the leader in regulatory compliance, security and privacy.

The leadership team at Crypto.com was therefore confident as ever in its mission and vision, he said.

Nevertheless, the unrelenting “crypto winter” that commenced in November 2021 has taken a huge toll on the industry in terms of insolvencies, job losses and a crisis of trust and confidence by investors.

According to Bloomberg, virtual coins have shed $2 trillion of value since the 2021 peak.

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