(Bloomberg) —
Rain Financial Inc., one of the Middle East’s largest crypto exchanges, has laid off dozens of employees amid a recent downturn in digital assets, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The company communicated the decision to staff this week, the people said. The cuts impact employees across a range of departments, they said, declining to be identified as the matter is private.
“As cryptocurrencies and global markets continue to slow down, this has in turn impacted businesses across the globe,” Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Dallago said in a statement. “We have had to make tough decisions to be able to navigate through this period of uncertainty and we can confirm we have downsized our Rain workforce.”
Cryptocurrency prices have declined this year from the highs reached in early November. The job cuts at Rain come as Gemini Trust Co., the crypto business run by billionaire brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, slashed 10% of staff.
Rain’s backers include Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins and Coinbase Ventures. It last raised funds at a $500 million valuation, pledging to use the money to expand in the Middle East and Africa and double its workforce to 800 this year.
The cuts at Rain come days after Dubai-based ride sharing firm Swvl Holdings Corp. said it would slash a third of its workforce.
(Updates with statement and news of Gemini cuts)
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