Top Latin American Crypto Exchange Bitso Lays Off 80 Employees

Latin American crypto exchange Bitso laid off 80 employees on Thursday, the company told CoinDesk.

“Our decisions about the people who work in our company are made on the basis of our long-term business strategy and to support our customers and our strategy as a company,” Bitso said in a statement.

Bitso, which had more than 700 employees before the layoffs, still lists more than 60 open positions on its jobs page.

In its statement, the company mentioned the need to rethink the skills it needs from employees to move faster in the crypto industry as reasons for the cutbacks. It did not mention any difficulties in raising capital.

Bitso's layoffs come two days after the Argentina-based crypto exchange Buenbit laid off 45% of its staff — or roughly 80 employees — due to the “global overhaul” the tech industry has entered, according to its CEO, Federico Ogue.

Bitso has more than four million users in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. The company told CoinDesk in January that it’s aiming to become the largest exchange in Brazil before the end of 2022. In Brazil, Bitso competes with local crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin, the leader with more than four million customers.

Bitso's latest investment round was in May 2021, when it raised $250 million at a valuation of $2.2 billion, making it the first Latin American crypto unicorn.

Read more: Argentinian Crypto Exchange Buenbit Cuts 45% of Staff Due to Tech Industry Downturn