By James Davis
On Saturday, SuperRare Labs, the owner of NFT Market SuperRare, joined a long list of crypto companies that have resorted to firing their Staff. John Crain, the SuperRare CEO, revealed the news on his Twitter Handle.
The NFT marketplace plans to reduce 30% of its Staff, citing over-hiring as one of the major reasons for the layoffs. In addition, Crain said that the firm takes full responsibility for the mistake. The CEO also claimed that team resizing was necessary to ensure that SuperRare continues serving its community.
SuperRare was launched in 2018. It is a social network for art collectors and creators of NFTs built on the Ethereum network. NFTs are digital assets that provide proof of ownership and represent membership in online communities.
SuperRare Attracts Celebrities and Investors
Since SuperRare began operations, several celebrities in entertainment and sports have listed their NFT projects on the marketplace. Among the celebs is Snoop Dogg. The musician collaborated with Coldie, a mixed media artist, to launch an NFT on SuperRare.
Furthermore, last May, famous music artist Madonna joined efforts with Beeple, a digital artist, to create an NFT collection that launched on SuperRare. Besides attracting celebrity interest, SuperRare also raised over $8.9 million in a Series A funding round last March, with Velvet Sea as the leading investor.
While news of cutting off employees may appear terrible for the firm, the SuperRare CEO sounded optimistic in his statement to employees. Crain cited that despite the current headwinds, he looks forward to transformation and innovation in Web3 in the future.
More Crypto Firms Plan to Reduce Staff
It is just the start of a new year, but several crypto firms have announced plans to resize their Staff. Most of these firms blame the prolonged crypto winter and the industry contagion stemming from the collapse of Three Arrow Capital, FTX, and Terra.
On January 5, Silvergate Capital, a crypto banking group, revealed that it would cut off about 40% of its Staff. Another crypto firm resizing its workforce is Genesis. The crypto lending company is seeking to reduce its Staff by 30%. Elsewhere, Huobi, a crypto exchange, will send 20% of its employees home.