Crypto broker Genesis slashes jobs by 20%, taps insider as interim chief

livemint.com:

New York-based Genesis Trading has named chief operating officer Derar Islim as the interim head of the crypto broker and decided to slash its workforce by 20%.

The company announced that Islim will replace Michael Moro, who was stepping away from the CEO role effective Wednesday.

Genesis is the latest in the cryptocurrency space to be hit by the so-called "crypto winter", which has compelled a string of high profile firms to shrink their headcount in recent times.

Before the layoffs, Genesis employed as many as 260 people. In July, Genesis disclosed it had exposure to bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, another casualty of the receding interest in digital assets.

The firm, however, had mitigated its losses after Three Arrows failed to meet a margin call, outgoing CEO Moro said at the time, adding that Genesis parent Digital Currency Group had assumed some of the crypto broker's liabilities.

Genesis has also named Tom Conheeney, who was the president of former hedge fund SAC Capital and its successor Point72 Asset Management, as a senior advisor.

Moro will advise the firm through the transition, Genesis said, adding it had begun to search for a full-time chief executive.

Cryptos fell again on Wednesday, with Bitcoin and Ether both retreating for the fourth consecutive day.

The MVDA Index, which tracks the 100 largest digital assets, tumbled close to 1.6% in the trading session. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell more than 2% from Tuesday’s close as of 1:54 p.m. in New York, while Ether suffered similar declines.

Ether, having benefited in recent weeks from investor optimism as a long-awaited software update (known as the Merge) looks to occur mid-September, is struggling to