SuperRare, an NFT marketplace, laying off 30% of staff

John Crain, the CEO of the curated non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, SuperRare, said on Friday, Jan. 6, that the company is reducing their employee count by thirty percent as a direct consequence of the prolonged crypto winter.

SuperRare adjusting

According to John Crain, their growth hasn’t been sustainable in recent months because the company overhired during the last crypto and NFT boom.

“During the most recent run-up in the market, we saw growth concurrently with it. It has become abundantly clear in the most recent few months that this quick growth cannot be maintained; we overhired, and I am willing to take all responsibility for this folly.” 

In SuperRare’s assessment, reducing employee count will “rightsize” the company. Subsequently, this will ensure that the marketplace can continue to serve its community of artists and collectors while not being impaired.

Impact of bear market on NFTs

To stay afloat in the face of unstable market conditions, SuperRare is downsizing thereby joining a long list of cryptocurrency firms that have been severely impacted by the sharp downturn of last year. Overly, the NFTs market, like crypto asset prices, posted significant declines in 2022.

Since April, top-tier crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken have been laying off employees. The largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, declared about 20% of its employees redundant, followed by layoffs at crypto brokerages, trading firms, payment processors, and Web3 gaming studios.

In November, Meta Platforms (META) let off almost 11,000 employees across its apps and Reality Labs divisions, equivalent to 13% of the company’s workforce.