Coinbase-backed Rain Financial, a major crypto exchange based in Bahrain, has laid off dozens of employees, according to Bloomberg, citing sources with direct knowledge of the operation.
- The layoffs were made as cryptocurrency prices have suffered a prolonged downturn and international markets have also suffered, Bloomberg said.
- "We have had to make tough decisions to navigate through this time of uncertainty, and we can confirm that we have downsized our Rain workforce," Rain CEO Joseph Dallago said in a statement provided to Bloomberg.
- Rain has between 251 and 500 employees, according to Crunchbase, while LinkedIn puts the number at 501-1,000.
- The move follows Thursday's news from crypto exchange and custodian Gemini that it is laying off about 10% of its staff amid "turbulent market conditions." And last week, Argentina's Buenbit exchange announced it was laying off 45% of its staff due to the technical downturn, while leading Latin American exchange Bitso said it was laying off 80 employees to streamline its workforce.
- Rain Financial raised $6 million in January in a funding round led by Middle Eastern VC firm MEVP Capital, which also included Coinbase. It was the first cryptocurrency exchange to receive a crypto asset service provider license from the Central Bank of Bahrain.
- Rain did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.