Mercado Bitcoin Lays off 15% over Market Collapse

Mercado Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Brazil, has announced the execution of a series of layoffs due to the global economic conditions.

Mercado Bitcoin let go of 15% of its workforce on September 1st, as part of a series of measures taken by 2TM, the holding company of the exchange, directed to streamline operations.

Mercado Bitcoin stated:"The adversity in the economy continues, and the competitive environment continues to deteriorate and is unfair, without the approval of the legal framework for cryptoassets, with players that follow the laws penalized against companies that ignore local rules."

This marks the second time that the company has decided to let go of employees in less than three months. The first wave of layoffs was executed in June when the company fired 90 employees with the objective of maintaining its operations in the future.

Other exchanges in Latam have also fired part of their personnel to reduce their expenses. This is the case with Bitso, a Mexico-based exchange, and also Buenbit, an Argentinian exchange, with both having to reduce their workforce to survive the current market cooldown.

Mercado Bitcoin scored an investment of $200 million from SoftBank in July 2021, reaching unicorn status in one of the biggest funding rounds Latam has seen. Later, in December, the exchange announced a second Series B funding round closure, adding $50 million more in investments.

Source: Bitcoin.com