US-Based Bitcoin Firm NYDIG Lays Off Around One Third Of Staff

According to four persons with knowledge of the situation, the Bitcoin services business NYDIG has laid off around 100 employees.

According to three persons with knowledge of the situation, the company has laid off around 30% of its workforce in recent weeks. A source stated that layoffs had been ongoing for “several weeks.” The Wall Street Journal reported the layoffs for the first time on Thursday evening, at 110 people.

An ex-employee of NYDIG said, “It’s like a trading desk mentality where nobody talks to anyone. You can disappear and nobody will know for months.”

Late in 2021, NYDIG raised $1 billion to construct a Bitcoin platform suitable for institutional use. The network was anticipated to link to banks and credit unions, giving retail banking consumers unparalleled access to bitcoin. The company’s promotional slogan was “Bitcoin for all.”

Since NYDIG’s fundraising, however, the crypto market has deteriorated. The price of bitcoin plummeted below $20,000 per coin, a 70% decrease from its all-time high of over $67,500 in November 2021.

Former employee said: “NYDIG put all their eggs in this banking strategy, but they realized that there was no way that these banks were ready.”  Further he said ,“They blew through all this money telling a story that they would bring bitcoin to the masses. Their core strategy was blundered.”

Moreover, the layoffs coincide with leadership changes. Early in October, the business announced that CEO Robert Gutmann and President Yan Zhao would be leaving NYDIG and returning to its parent company, Stone Ridge Holdings Group. Tejas Shah and Nate Conrad, both NYDIG executives, would assume the positions of CEO and President, respectively.

Gutmann and Zhao are co-founders of Stone Ridge, a manager of alternative assets that specialises in unusual investment techniques, such as weather reinsurance and pharma royalties.