Bitcoin Billionaires Lay Off 10% of Employees, Blame Market and 'Crypto Winter'Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss announced that Gemini would be making major staffing cuts, issuing a stark warning about the crypto market.

ByEmily Rella

Bloomberg / Getty Images
Bloomberg / Getty Images

Things aren't necessarily looking great for thecrypto world, with reports of popular coinstumbling in recent weeksas the market tanks valuation of many investors'digital portfolios.

It seems like no one is immune to the downfall of the market, not even crypto billionairesCameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who founded the crypto exchange platformGeminiwhich is currently worth anestimated$7.1 billion.

The CEO and President penned a letter to Gemini employees on Thursday (whom they call "astronauts") to inform their team that they would be cutting 10% of their total workforce due to what they are calling the "crypto winter."

Related:Bitcoin Billionaire Cameron Winklevoss Says Gold Could Be the Next GameStop

"The crypto revolution is well underway and its impact will continue to be profound," the twinsexplained to staff. "But its trajectory has been anything but gradual or predictable. Its path can best be described as punctuated equilibrium — periods of equilibrium or stasis that are punctuated by dramatic moments of hypergrowth, followed by sharp contractions that settle down to a new equilibrium that is higher than the one before."

双子座对再保险公司关闭了所有的现场办公室leasing the news in an effort to hold compensation conversation with laid off individuals in a digital and private manner. A company all-hands meeting is set to take place on Friday to talk about next steps with remaining employees.

"Every great company throughout history has faced similar challenges along the way and Gemini is no different. And as painful as this moment is, we ultimately see it as an opportunity to double-down on our strongest ideas and customer-centric products so that we may be the catalyst of innovation coming out of these leaner times that will help fuel the next cycle of crypto growth and adoption," the lettermaintained. "We have never had more conviction in our people, our products, and our mission — to unlock the next era of financial, creative, and personal freedom for our customers. Amazing awaits."

The Winklevoss twins, who were among the earliest investors in Bitcoin, made most of their money throughsettlement fundsthey were able to invest in the crypto game thanks to an estimated $65 million payout they received after a brutal lawsuit with Meta (then Facebook) founder Mark Zuckerberg after the twins claimed that Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook's original platform.

Related:Coinbase Just Launched America's First Regulated Bitcoin Exchange

Together, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss areestimated to havea combined net worth of $6 billion.

The news of Gemini's layoffs shouldn't come as a surprise to those well-versed in the crypto game.

Just last month crypto exchange platform Coinbase reported a whopping $430 million loss in quarterly revenue during its Q1 2022 earnings reported and warned users of the platform that their crypto assets "could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings" in the event that Coinbase itself ever宣布破产.

Rain Financial Inc, a popular crypto exchange in the Middle East that's financially backed by Coinbase, alsoannounced a seriesof over a dozen layoffs on Thursday following the news of Gemini.

Accordingto Coinbase, Bitcoin was down just shy of 20% year over year as of late Thursday afternoon, with Ethereum down nearly 33% during the same time period.

Related:Here's a Beginner's Guide to Crypto, NFTs, and the Metaverse

Wavy Line
Emily Rella

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

An 81-Year-Old Florida CEO Just Indicted for a $250 Million Ponzi Scheme Ran a Sprawling Senior Citizen Crime Ring

Carl Ruderman is the fifth senior citizen in the Miami-Fort-Lauderdale-Palm Beach metropolitan area to face charges in connection with the scam.

Real Estate

The No. 1 Thing Wealthy People Want in Luxury Real Estate, According to a 'Selling Sunset' Agent

It might come as no surprise that affluent buyers want "to have as much as they can" — but another key factor really sways their decision.

Money & Finance

Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules.

太多的企业家的计谋狗万官方nting too heavily on a company exit for their eventual 'win.' Do this instead.

Devices

These Translation Earbuds are Only $99.97 During Our Back-to-School Sale

Speak a language without knowing it with these 37-language translator earbuds.

Starting a Business

At 16, She Was a Homeless Single Mom With Serious Talent. Now, Her Business Brings in Millions.

Mimi G. Ford's online venture was earning seven figures within just three years. Today, she's excited to reach even more people.