Fidelity International-Backed Exchange OSL Cuts Workers Amid Crypto Winter: Bloomberg

Hugh Madden, CEO of OSL's parent company, cited current market conditions.

AccessTimeIconJan 17, 2023 at 2:12 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:06 a.m. UTC
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CORRECTION (Jan. 18, 23:33 UTC): Corrects headline, first graph to say OSL is backed by Fidelity International, not Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity International-backed crypto exchange OSL is cutting staff and reducing its overall costs by about a third in another example of a major crypto firm retrenching, according to a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday.

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  • The exchange, which was Hong Kong's first licensed cryptocurrency exchange, declined to say how many positions were cut.

    The move to reduce costs was due to “current market conditions” and “included headcount reduction,” Hugh Madden, CEO of OSL’s parent company, BC Technology Group, said in a statement to Bloomberg.

    OSL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The job cuts follow a string of recent layoff announcements at major crypto firms. Crypto brokerage Blockchain.com cut its staff by 28% last week, crypto exchange Coinbase announce cuts of 20% of its staff, or around 950 jobs, and Ethereum development firm ConsenSys plans to lay off 100 or more. CoinDesk estimates nearly 27,000 jobs have been lost across the industry since last April.

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