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Crypto Custodian Prime Trust Warns It May Lay Off 62 Employees, Nevada Records Show
The company filed for bankruptcy in August.
Updated Sep 19, 2023, 10:37 p.m. Published Sep 19, 2023, 9:49 p.m.
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Prime Trust has notified its employees that it may lay off 62 people within the next two months, just weeks after the company made deep cuts to its workforce, according to Nevada's Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation.
The crypto custody firm, which filed for bankruptcy in August, disclosed on Sept. 14 the possible layoffs to the DETR, a document from the agency shows. A month earlier, CoinDesk reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that massive layoffs loomed.
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It is unclear what percentage of the company's workforce the 62 workers account for as the company's current headcount is unknown. (A bankruptcy filing says the company had 70 full-time employees and contractors as of Aug. 14.) It’s also not clear the degree to which potential job losses cited in CoinDesk’s Aug. 11 story were reflected in this notice.
Prime Trust was not immediately available to respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.
Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, employers must inform their employees of "mass layoffs" or plant closings at least 60 days in advance of those events.
Prime Trust filed for bankruptcy in August, roughly two months after Nevada regulators alleged the company was unable to meet its customers' withdrawal requests. The company also used customer funds to invest in failed stablecoin project Terra, in addition to engaging in other dubious business practices, a court filing shows.
Bids for the company’s assets are due in early to mid-October, according to a court order filed last week, and the transaction may close within the 60-day window created by the WARN notice.
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