Crypto exchange Kraken has laid off 30% of its workforce.

Luminaries from both the financial and crypto worlds are sounding dire warnings about the future of the industry. At an event hosted by the New York Times DealBook, Larry Fink, CEO, BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), said he believed the majority of crypto businesses “are not going to be around” in the future, given that “there were misbehaviours of major consequences.”

Fink also sounded off bleakly on the prospects of the economy, referring to high inflation, high interest rates, and limited scope to use fiscal stimulus.

“We’re actually going to enter a period of more what I would call malaise,” the executive said. “We’re just not going to have an economy that is based on real growth that we were accustomed to.” (CryptoNews)

However, on a somewhat brighter note, Fink referred to the promise of blockchain technology and said it would be very important, especially in the context of tokenization of securities, which he believed would be “the next generation for markets and next generation for securities.”

Meanwhile, Binance CEO CZ has warned investors in a tweet to avoid certain crypto platforms: “Beware of platforms that: 1. offer high APYs and/or 2. have layoffs. If you don’t do risk management now, don’t blame others for consequences later.”

The tweet appears to have since been deleted, but was likely a veiled reference to the announcement by crypto exchange Kraken laying off 30% of its workforce or 1,100 people.

Kraken co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell attributed the decision to slowing growth due to “macroeconomic and geopolitical factors,” as well as the downturn in the crypto market that had decreased customer demand, lowered trading volumes and cut sign-ups.

“We responded by slowing hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments. Unfortunately, negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand,” Powell wrote.

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