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NFT Marketplace SuperRare Cuts Staff by 30%

CEO John Crain said the company overhired during the market upswing and could not sustain its growth in recent months.

Updated Jan 12, 2023, 3:05 p.m. Published Jan 7, 2023, 3:05 a.m.
(Nicolas Sanchez)
(Nicolas Sanchez)

Curated non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace SuperRare has reduced its staff by 30%, CEO John Crain announced on Friday, succumbing to the woes of an extended crypto winter that has chilled many market sectors.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Crain said the company saw rapid growth when the NFT market was formerly booming and it overhired to compensate.

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"During the recent bull run, we grew in tandem with the market," Crain wrote. "In recent months, it's become clear that this aggressive growth was unsustainable: We overhired, and I take full ownership of this mistake."

Crain said cutting its staff helped to "rightsize" the company and ensure that SuperRare can continue to service the artist and collector communities.

SuperRare joins a growing number of crypto companies that have downsized to stay afloat amid turbulent market conditions. Beginning in April, several global crypto exchanges reduced their headcount, with Coinbase laying off 1,1000 employees in June. Shortly after, top NFT marketplace OpenSea laid off roughly 20% of its staff, followed by cuts from crypto brokerages, trading firms, payment processing companies and Web3 gaming studios.

In November, Meta Platforms (META) slashed more than 11,000 jobs – an estimated 13% of its workforce – across its apps and Reality Labs segments.

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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Tristan Thompson launches prediction market turning NBA stats into stock

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NBA veteran Tristan Thompson launched basketball.fun, a new prediction market platform that turns top athletes into tradable assets.

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How it works: The platform differentiates itself from standard betting by treating the NBA's top 100 players as individual financial assets to collect.

  • Users can buy and open "packs" of players, mimicking the nostalgic experience of buying physical trading cards.
  • Player "share prices" luctuate based on real-time performance, rising if a player records a triple-double or dropping if they struggle after an injury.
  • Users can trade these player shares on a secondary marketplace.