dYdX Founder Antonio Juliano Announces 35% Workforce Reduction, But It Hasn't Affected the Token's Price

While he did not specify the number of layoffs, Juliano stated that the remaining team is well-prepared for the company's future goals.

DeFi platform dYdX has laid off 35% of its core staff, according to an announcement by the company's founder, Antonio Juliano.

The news comes as a surprise, given that dYdX has been one of the most successful DeFi projects in recent years. The platform, which allows users to trade derivatives on a decentralized exchange, has seen its native token, dYdX, soar in value since its launch in 2021.

However, despite the platform's success, Juliano said that the company had to make the "difficult decision" to lay off staff in order to "shift direction and prepare for the next phase of our goals."

He did not specify the number of employees who were laid off, but said that the remaining team is "small and mighty."

dYdX currently has around 50 employees and is still hiring for engineering and design roles, according to Juliano.

The news of the layoffs had little impact on the price of the dYdX token, which remained stable on Monday, trading above $1, and has shown an 8% increase since the beginning of the week. The token is still trading 96% below its all-time high, reached in September 2021.

The platform's Total Value Locked (TVL) has also seen a significant drop, falling from over $500 million in March to approximately $287 million. In contrast, competitors like Hyperliquid have seen their TVL soar to over $870 million.

The trend of workforce reductions in the crypto industry began in 2022, with several major companies, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Genesis, announcing layoffs. ConsenSys, the company behind the popular Ethereum wallet MetaMask, also announced a 20% workforce reduction last year.

The layoffs are largely attributed to macroeconomic pressures, such as the rising interest rates and inflation, and challenges faced by the industry, including the regulatory landscape and the collapse of several major crypto projects.