Amber Group, one of Asia’s leading crypto trading and lending platforms, is laying off employees, closing retail locations, and canceling a sponsorship agreement with Chelsea FC, in the latest retrenchment in the digital-asset sector.
According to a person familiar with the situation who asked to remain anonymous because they were discussing personal information, the decisions are a key component of a significant cost-cutting strategy. According to the source, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency company, whose investors include Temasek Holdings Pte and Sequoia China, will reduce its workforce from about 700 to less than 400 from a peak of about 1,100.
Following the spectacular collapse of Sam Bankman Fried’s FTX exchange and sister trading house Alameda Research a month ago, Amber’s actions are just the most recent sign of the deteriorating outlook for virtual assets.
According to the source, Amber will now concentrate on major institutions, family businesses, and affluent people. The number of customers will drop from hundreds of thousands to about 100 as a result of Amber’s exit from the retail sector, the source added.
The business has recently denied online rumors that it could be the final domino to fall after a string of explosions in the crypto sector, which is suffering from a $2 trillion collapse. A senior executive tweeted that the company was operating “business as usual.”
Offices, Chelsea
According to the source, Amber intends to relocate to a less expensive office location in Hong Kong, while some smaller offices in other areas are probably going to be closed and the remaining staff members will be permitted to work from home.
In May, Chelsea FC and Amber announced a partnership that would see the WhaleFin trading platform logo displayed on the team’s jersey sleeves for the 2022–2023 season.
The annual sponsorship agreement was said to be worth £20 million ($25 million). According to the knowledgeable source, Amber is going through the legal procedure to cancel the contract.
Former traders from Morgan Stanley were among the founders of Amber, which was founded in 2018. In February of that year, the company raised $200 million at a $3 billion valuation. This week, Amber reportedly postponed a $100 million fundraising effort, according to the report.blockgeni.com/tutorial-on-multi-layer-perceptron-in-neural-network
Tiantian Kullander, a co-founder of the business, died unexpectedly in his sleep in November at the age of 30.
