Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance has laid off at least 1,000 employees just days after it was hit by a wave of executive exits.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company let go of more than 1,000 employees in recent weeks in a continuing exercise that could result in the exchange losing more than a third of its staff.
Later, Reuters also confirmed the news and reported that the "layoffs at the world's biggest crypto exchange come at a time when the industry's future in the U.S. market is uncertain, with regulators aggressively clamping down on what they deem are illegal activities."
It should be noted that this development happened just a few days after several top executives left the company including its Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann.
However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that involuntary terminations often happen in almost all companies.
"As we continuously strive to increase talent density, there are involuntary terminations. This happens in every company. The numbers reported by the media are all way off. On the bright side, they just can't resist talking about us. We are still hiring," tweeted Zhao.
In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission had sued Binance and its CEO for operating a web of deception. However, Binance denied these claims and made it clear that it would defend this lawsuit vigorously.
Amid rumors surrounding the alleged layoff, a Binance spokesperson said that the company is still on a path of growth trajectory.
"Over the last six years, we have grown from 30 to a team of almost 8,000 across the globe. As we prepare for the next major bull cycle, it has become clear that we need to focus on talent density across the organization to ensure we remain nimble and dynamic," said a Binance spokesperson, Reuters reported.
