150,000+ investors read this newsletter to stay on top of crypto – subscribe for free
Blockworks exclusive: The NFT unit’s restructuring follows the exchange laying off about 5% of its workforce, or 260 staffers
Top digital assets exchange Crypto.com, fresh off a substantial round of layoffs, has parted ways with the head of its nascent NFT business, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 
Joe Conyers III helped the exchange get its first NFT (non-fungible token) platform off the ground when he joined Crypto.com in March 2021. Conyers, based in New York, left the Singapore-headquartered company last week amid a restructuring of the unit, sources said.
Sources were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive business dealings. A spokesperson for the exchange declined to comment on Conyers and the rationale behind the reorganization, but told Blockworks the NFT unit is one of the company’s “highest priorities.”  
Conyers, a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist, previously worked for technology firms and in the music industry. His next move isn’t known. 
“He’s a big loss,” one source said. 
One source said the restructuring, not a downsizing, was put in motion to improve efficiencies.
The platform — which competes with incumbent giant OpenSea and rival Coinbase’s upstart offering — lets digital collectible aficionados both mint and trade NFTs. Crypto.com makes money by taking a slice of transaction proceeds.
The emphasis on the new division comes as Crypto.com and other exchanges increasingly look to diversify revenue streams away from their historial bread and butter of taking a portion of the spreads between buyers and sellers as a market maker.
That once-steady cash flow has diminished drastically as deep-pocketed traders parse the aftermath of stablecoin UST’s collapse and crypto lender Celsius’ increasingly likely insolvency.
Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.
Blockworks exclusive: Anthony DeMartino, former head of risk strategies at Coinbase, has joined Matrixport, the company confirmed today
Blockworks exclusive: Many protocols backed by Three Arrows kept their funding round capital, plus portions of their own treasuries, with the fund manager
Trapped between plummeting bitcoin prices, climbing electricity rates and high-interest debt, many bitcoin miners are finding themselves underwater
Uniswap brings in former NYSE president, BitPay adds an attorney
The company’s goal is to foster mass adoption of gaming, collectibles, music and sports NFTs

source

Write A Comment

Your article is loading
Exit mobile version