Chainalysis Lays Off 15% of Staff Amid Market Doldrums

• Chainalysis will be sending home 15% of its workforce.
• The company cited various reasons for the move, including a “strategic retreat.”
• The company’s VP hinted at a new business strategy to circumvent persistent crypto winter.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has announced a second round of job cuts in the company, stating that the move is geared towards driving profitability and maturity in the light of evolving market forces.

The company made the first layoff in February, following the prolonged crypto winter in the aftermath of the FTX collapse . Other crypto-related firms that axed employees during the same period include Bittrex and Protocol Labs.

150 Employees Axed

Chainalysis CEO Michael Gronager reportedly broke the news to employees via an email on Monday evening, informing them that 15% of the company’s 900-member staff (about 150 employees) would be laid off in a “strategic” retreat from the commercial market as the firm seeks to concentrate more on stable government contracting.

Among the reasons the company leadership cited for the latest job cut include a decreased demand for Chainalysis’s products amid dwindling trading revenue and blockchain activity among its clients.

The company’s vice president (VP) of communications, Madeleine Kennedy, confirmed the news on October 2 and told Forbes that the job cut reflected Chainalysis’s ongoing strategic shifts to rebalance growth aspirations.

Following the continued market doldrums, Kennedy stated that Chainalysis had to reevaluate its growth expectations for the rest of the year after growing 50% from mid-2022 to mid-2023, affirming that the company has “ample cash” to withstand the bear market and branch out to the public sector.

Forays into the Public Sector

The VP reiterated Chainalysis’s strategic retreat to the public sector, which currently provides 70% of its revenue, and hinted that the company would be expanding on the investigative power of its primary products with a focus on the future needs of governments.

Read the sentiments of Chainalysis’s head of policy on U.S. crypto enforcement:
U.S. Faces Real Threat of Crypto “Ban by Enforcement:” Chainalysis Policy Head

Stay updated on Web3 crime trends according to Chainalysis Director of Mid-Market EMEA:
Web3 Crime Trends: What Is the Hottest Target?