New reports say that cryptocurrency infrastructure firm Blockstream and London-based early-stage crypto startup Koinly are seeking funding.
Koinly downsizes its staff by 14% due to the negative conditions of the cryptocurrency market
The London-based early-stage crypto startup has announced that it will cut 14% due to market conditions. The shrinking of the workforce comes in the wake of the startup’s hiring spree. However, the unfavorable multi-month conditions of the market hampered many companies and startups such as Koinly. Prior to this, Koinly had recorded an increase of approximately 225% in headcount. Now, in a company-wide circular, Founder and CEO Robin Singh explains that the layoffs were made in response to the intensifying bear market combined with the collapse of FTX:
We are taking measures to ensure we are as weak as possible as we navigate the crypto winter. While change is an inevitable part of business, we had a sad week at Koinly that we had to leave a few colleagues.
The startup executive also complained that investors did not declare their crypto losses on their tax returns. In full expression;
As a crypto tax firm, what hurts us more than the actual crypto downturn is the lack of awareness of crypto investors in declaring crypto losses. We see fewer people reporting cryptocurrencies on their tax returns, mostly because there have been so many losses this year. However, investors often don’t realize that declaring losses on their tax returns will benefit them in the long run because losses can be used to offset gains for years to come.
Blockstream is under $1 billion
One of the companies that fell into the same situation after the FTX bankruptcy, Blockstream is looking for new capital with a lower valuation. The crypto infrastructure company has been in trouble after high-profile crashes like Terra and FTX. It saw its market cap of $3.2 billion in the coming year drop to $1 billion. According to a report from Bloomberg, Blockstream may now be worth under $1 billion. This jeopardizes the “unicorn” status granted to companies valued at over $1 billion.
According to data from Crunchbase, Blockstream has raised a total of $299 million to date. It recently partnered with Block to launch a solar and battery-powered mining facility. It has also made a number of acquisitions over the years, including SponDoolies-Tech and Adamant Capital.
Blockstream’s CEO, Adam Back, said the new funding they requested will be used to expand their capacity to host their miners. He did not elaborate on the size or valuation of the funding round. As you follow on Kriptokoin.com, Temasek-backed Amber Group is in the process of raising funds.
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