Brazil’s largest crypto exchange, Unicorn 2TM, laid off over 80 employees on Wednesday.
The holding company, Mercado Bitcoin Market, has more than 580 employees. 2TM has just over 80–which means the company has axed almost all of the 2TM team. The exact number…86.
“The changing global financial landscape, rising interest rates and inflation have been having a major impact on technology-based companies,” 2TM said in a statement, adding that “the scenario required adjustments that go beyond reducing operational expenses, making it necessary also to lay off part of our employees.”
The layoffs come after Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) ended talks to acquire 2TM.
Last week, Latin American crypto exchange Bitso laid off 80 employees, citing “long-term business strategy” as the reason. Argentina-based cryptocurrency exchange Buenbit also laid off 45% of its staff in the same week.
“Dear community, Today I come to tell you a news that hurts me a lot. Given a new global context, we are redefining our strategy to become more robust and efficient, and I want to tell you about it in this thread,” Buenbit’s CEO Federico Ogue tweeted. “After a 2021 of exponential growth for the technology industry, we are going through a stage of global review. Given this new context, we decided to reduce our staff and pause our expansion plan to focus exclusively on operations in the countries where we are present today and maintain a self-sustaining and efficient structure.”
Bitcoin has reportedly produced scores of millionaires in Latin America, despite its unpredictable nature.
In March, the president of El Salvador (the first Latin American country to adopt Bitcoin) announced his plans to launch bitcoin-backed bonds to raise $1 billion for the country.
In June of last year, Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele pledged $30 in Bitcoin to each citizen that downloaded and registered on the country’s new crypto wallet, Chivo. The app was meant to boost the country’s economy but ultimately flopped.
