Gemini Slashes Workforce by 30 Percent

Gemini Space Station, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has reduced its headcount by roughly 30% since the beginning of the year.

The massive cuts come after the newly public company reported an eye-popping $585 million net loss last year.

According to a recent shareholder letter, Gemini’s workforce has been whittled down to approximately 445 employees as of March 1. 

A desperate predicament 

The New York-based firm had previously announced a 25% reduction and a complete withdrawal from the UK, European Union, and Australian markets. However, the company subsequently executed quiet, additional layoffs affecting its U.S. staff, pushing the total cuts to the 30% mark.

The corporate shakeup extended to the very top of the organization, with the exchange parting ways with its Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Legal Officer.

The full-year $585 million loss includes massive unrealized losses on the company’s crypto holdings.

Threatened by Coinbase, Gemini is now looking for a lifeline. The Winklevoss twins are attempting to stake the company’s future on newer ventures, including a prediction markets platform. However, this pivot already courted controversy, with an investor filing a lawsuit in March alleging the company failed to properly disclose this sudden business pivot.

A failed bet on the bull market 

Gemini miscalculated the timing of the market, which has exacerbated its predicament. 

Last fall, the twins launched Gemini’s highly anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) in September. 

They heavily funded expensive global expansions and staffed up rapidly. 

The strategy banked on the assumption that high trading volumes and rising asset prices would easily justify their increased overhead and newly minted public valuation.

Instead, the timing was catastrophic. Macroeconomic headwinds pushed the price of Bitcoin sharply lower, with the cryptocurrency plummeting more than 40% from its October all-time high. 

The sudden revenue drop created a devastating squeeze on Gemini’s balance sheet. 

Despite the bruising market reality, the former Olympic rowers struck a defiant tone in their latest shareholder letter. “As rowers, losing a race provided invaluable feedback on the changes you need to make in order to win,” they wrote.