Anchorage Digital Reportedly Cuts 17% of Workforce
Key Takeaways
- •Anchorage Digital has reportedly cut 17% of its workforce, which could equal around 68 of its roughly 400 employees as of February.
- •Chief Executive Nathan McCauley informed employees of the job cuts this week, according to The Information, but Anchorage has not officially confirmed the reduction.
- •The reported layoffs follow a year-long crypto downturn in which Bitcoin briefly recovered above $87,000 on Friday yet remains far below its $126,000 peak from last October.
- •Anchorage, founded in 2017, became the first crypto firm to receive a national trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2021 and grew into a major institutional custodian with a $4.2 billion valuation earlier this year.
- •The company recently expanded into stablecoin issuance, including Tether's USAT, supported by a $100 million strategic investment from Tether, and any effect of the headcount reduction on these operations has not been disclosed.
Anchorage Digital, the federally chartered US digital asset bank that was valued at $4.2 billion earlier this year, has reportedly cut 17% of its workforce, the latest indication that the prolonged crypto market downturn is weighing on even the sector's most established institutions.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Information reported on Friday that Chief Executive Nathan McCauley informed employees of the cuts this week.
Anchorage had roughly 400 employees worldwide as of February, according to congressional testimony McCauley delivered at the time. If headcount has stayed near that level, a 17% reduction would amount to approximately 68 jobs.
Cointelegraph reached out to a public relations contact representing Anchorage for confirmation but did not receive an immediate response, leaving the precise scope of the reported cuts unconfirmed.
Market backdrop
Crypto markets have struggled over the past year, which The Information cited as the backdrop for Anchorage's workforce reduction. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly recovered above $87,000 on Friday but remains well below its peak of $126,000 reached last October. The gap between those two figures illustrates the depth of the year-long downturn that The Information pointed to as the reason behind the company's move.
Layoffs amid regulated expansion
The reported job cuts come as Anchorage has expanded its role in the regulated US crypto industry. Founded in 2017, the company became the first crypto firm to receive a national trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2021 and has since grown into a major crypto custodian, holding digital assets on behalf of institutional clients. It was valued at more than $3 billion in a late-2021 funding round led by private equity firm KKR, and by earlier this year its valuation had reached $4.2 billion.
More recently, Anchorage has branched into stablecoin issuance, including Tether's new US stablecoin USAT. Earlier this year, the company received a $100 million strategic investment from Tether, the issuer behind USAT. Any effect of the reported headcount reduction on Anchorage's custody and stablecoin operations has not been disclosed.
