As we tread deeper into the Crypto winter, we begin to see the bodies of those who didn’t prepare well. With Ethereum plummeting over 95% from its all-time high, projects left holding Ethereum are left thigh and dry. 
 Research has shown that a significant portion of projects keep their funds in crypto, for example, Golem holds 369,023 ETH (valued at $33 Million)

Winter is here

 We start to see of layoffs at various Crypto Startups, including those behind top currencies such as Steemit and Ethereum. Many of these companies were not prepared for cryptocurrencies to take such an intense nosedive in price, thereby taking a significant portion of their funds and runway. We compiled a list of companies who have announced layoffs and the amount of staff laid off. 

Consensys – 13% Staff laid off

Consensys, the company backing Ethereum is reducing workforce by 13%. This New York based company is one of the largest companies in crypto works on real-world solutions using Ethereum. Currently the restructuring is seen as the birth of “Consensys 2.0″, a brand new direction for the company. Whilst this might be the case those remaining, one employee took to reddit to voice grievances. 

ETCDEV – complete shutdown

ETCDEV, the leading Ethereum Classic development company is shutting down and stopping all development. Igor Artamonov stated in a tweet that ETCDEV can no longer keep afloat. Whilst this is a strong blow to the ETC community, the price of ETC has not plummeted to zero – there are other development teams at work on this decentralized project

Steemit Inc – 70% of Staff

Steemit Incorporated, laid of 70% of their workforce citing the price of STEEM going below the “worst case scenario“. This restructuring also resulted in a significant cut in the scope of the company – with the social media arm being cut. Steemit Inc will now focus primarily on the development of the STEEM blockchain rather than on the social media website steemit.com. 

DASH – Defensive Measures

DASH Core Group (DCG) sent out a pre-emptive notice that they will not make any drastic cut backs. However, the group has made cuts to stipends and ad hoc contributors who work on non-essential features. DCG has been under fire over the past year for having a high burn rate of 240,000 USD per month (allocated from by masternode voting). 

Bitmain – R&D center cut

Bitmain, the mining equipment manufacturer cut an entire research and development devision in Isreal with 23 staff. The center was called BitmainTech Israel and was established in 2016 to work on blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. 

A Fresh New Start

One recurring theme with this wave of “restructuring” that it marks a new beginning. In many ways, crypto startups, especially those who raised an ICO were living a fantasy. During the bull market, VCs were throwing money at anyone who could talk blockchain. Unfortunately, it is clear that a lot of these companies had no experience in financial management, nor any clue how to generate revenue to sustain long term operations. Whilst it might seem news of layoffs is a signal for doom and gloom in the blockchain space, I see it as a necessary step for the future.

Let’s face it, we can’t live in a fantasy land where the money comes easy and results don’t matter. Crypto startups need to think about how to generate profit in the long term and find a way to sustain their operations. 

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