A year ago, when prices were soaring and new all-time highs (ATHs) were often established, the entire crypto exchange and cryptocurrency market scene was vastly different.

As a result of negative macroeconomic developments and a number of high-profile industry bankruptcies, such as Terra and FTX, the so-called crypto winter is now in full throttle.

Dropping trade volumes, Google searches, among other metrics, all point to a change in investor mood, which was perhaps unsurprising. The crypto exchange industry is currently among the hardest hit in these crippling ‘winter’ chills.

Image: Crypto Daily

Crypto Exchange Bybit Cracks Under Pressure

Bybit, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, has sent pink slips to its workforce as the crypto winter shows no signs of thawing. The action follows the company’s layoffs in June of this year.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated on Sunday that the layoffs are part of an ongoing reorganization of the Singapore-based crypto exchange company, and that the firm’s top priority is to keep business operations running smoothly and client funds secure.

Bitcoin’s inability to surpass $18,000 demonstrates that the crypto winter remains in the public eye, which is detrimental to local companies. In the past 24 hours, crypto markets have gained a meager 1.5 percent. Nonetheless, the general picture remains exceedingly pessimistic.

As a result, cryptocurrency miners and exchanges faced the brunt of the market volatility. Bybit is the most recent company to follow the trend of trading platforms rendering a significant number of their people unemployed.

Zhou has offered his apologies to individuals who may be impacted and explained that the decision was vital to survive the crypto winter.

The Domino Effect? Bybit Feels The Frostbites

In a report, Zhou was reported by Bloomberg as saying that the crypto exchange must have the appropriate structure and resources “to navigate the market downturn and is nimble enough to seize the many opportunities ahead.”

Zhou cited the continuous fall of crypto prices and the troubles of organizations such as bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and troubled crypto brokerage Genesis as indicators “that we are entering an even colder winter than anticipated from both an industry and market standpoint.”

Bybit, which is ranked among the top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges by both CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko based on volume and confidence in the stated volumes, is not the first cryptocurrency exchange to take such extreme precautions.

CryptoCom and Coinbase were among the first, with sources indicating that CryptoCom laid off several hundred employees. In June, the American multinational Coinbase slashed its headcount by 18%.

Crypto total market cap at $826 billion on the daily chart | Featured image: Intelligent Living, Chart: TradingView.com