Cryptocurrency exchange company Crypto.com has received registration approval from the United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The registration authorizes the company to conduct cryptoasset service in the UK, advancing the firm’s goal to expand in the country where they reportedly already have about 100 employees.
In an interview, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said that the UK is a “strategically important market for us,” pointing out the country’s growing crypto adoption and the government’s interest in becoming a crypto hub.
After the TerraUSD token crashed in May, Britain has put some focus on legislation for the regulation of the stablecoin sector. The FCA’s registration process requires crypto firms to fulfill the same anti-money laundering standards as other more traditional financial service companies. The regulator has so far only approved 37 of over 100 applications.
Rival firms Gemini, Kraken, and eToro are among those who have also received their FCA registration. Crypto.com is also registered or has provisional approval in other countries including Singapore where it is headquartered, Dubai, South Korea, and Italy.
According to Marszalek, the company intends to invest in UK-focused marketing. This comes after signing Matt Damon to be the main endorser of the company last year and spending millions on the naming rights for a sporting center in Los Angeles.
But while Crypto.com clearly has goals of expanding in the west, it has had to cut 5% of its workforce in June, which totaled 260 corporate employees. Decrypt reported on Tuesday that the company is quietly undergoing another round of layoffs, and sources say that this round could be bigger than the one in June.
One of the sources also disclosed that while the cuts in June targeted “elastic” staff or those who become less in-demand as customer numbers and trading volumes decline like customer service and growth roles, the new set of layoffs affects people working in “critical products like exchange, app, and wallet.”
A recent employee review of the company on Glassdoor puts the number of layoffs at “more than 1,000.” Although no one has been able to confirm as the company intends to remain tight-lipped on the topic, with the company allegedly going as far as removing an employee directory to aid in reducing visibility on the matter.
The ongoing layoffs were addressed in a recent Crypto.com town hall, and according to a copy of the Q&A that The Verge was able to obtain, Marszalek was asked about the exact numbers, but the CEO said that he was under no obligation to disclose the details of the layoffs.
“I want you to understand that this is a private company, and we don’t have to follow the public US company playbook … There doesn’t have to be an announcement, there doesn’t have to be a blog post,” said the CEO. “Of course, everybody’s always interested in the number. A number makes for a great headline, it’s a great thing to gossip about. [But] as co-owners of this company, you should ask yourself, ‘is it in my interest for this number to be out there?’ And I’ll leave it at that.”
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg, Decrypt, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
