$4.2 Billion Crypto Bank Anchorage Digital Cuts 17% of Workforce: Report
Key Takeaways
- •Anchorage Digital has reportedly cut 17% of its staff, with CEO Nathan McCauley informing employees of the layoffs this week, per a report by The Information.
- •Based on the roughly 400 employees the company reported in February, the reduction would amount to approximately 68 positions, though Anchorage has not yet publicly confirmed the cuts.
- •The layoffs reflect the strain of an extended crypto market slump, with Bitcoin trading near $87,000, well below the $126,000 peak it reached last October.
- •Anchorage remains a major institutional player, in 2021 become the first crypto company granted a national trust charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
- •The firm has been broadening into stablecoin issuance, including Tether's USAT, and earlier this year received a $100 million strategic investment from Tether.
Anchorage Digital, the federally chartered US digital asset bank 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 the company even as it broadens its institutional footprint.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Information reported on Friday that Chief Executive Nathan McCauley informed employees of the layoffs this week. Anchorage employed roughly 400 people worldwide as of February, according to McCauley's congressional testimony at the time — meaning a 17% reduction would amount to about 68 jobs if headcount has remained near that level.
Cointelegraph reached out to a public relations contact representing Anchorage for confirmation but did not receive an immediate response.
Market backdrop
The Information cited the broader struggles of crypto markets over the past year as the context for the workforce reduction. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly recovered above $87,000 on Friday but remains well below its $126,000 peak reached last October.
Continued institutional expansion
The layoffs come as Anchorage has continued to expand its role in the regulated US crypto industry. The company became the first crypto firm to receive a national trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2021 — the federal regulator that charters and supervises national banks — and has since grown into a major crypto custodian, safeguarding digital assets on behalf of institutional clients under that federal oversight.
More recently, Anchorage has moved into stablecoin issuance, including USAT, Tether's new US stablecoin. Earlier this year, the company also received a $100 million strategic investment from Tether.
Anchorage has yet to publicly confirm the reported reduction; any statement from the company, including detail on which teams are affected, would clarify the final scope of the layoffs as it continues to build out its custody and stablecoin businesses.
