Coinbase Ventures-Backed CoinDCX Lays Off 12% of its Workforce

CoinDCX is the latest crypto company to slash staff as it tries to navigate through market challenges. The Coinbase Ventures-backed Indian crypto unicorn cited the prolonged bear market and the impact of TDS on domestic exchanges to lay off 12% of its workforce, or 71, out of its total 590 employees.

The development comes after the company went through an internal restructuring earlier this year.

CoinDCX Lay Offs

Founded by Neeraj Khandelwal and Sumit Gupta in 2018, CoinDCX revealed undertaking several proactive measures, including direct cost optimization and investment in automation, aimed at enhancing efficiency and productivity.

The platform also reprioritized several initiatives/products that align with its long-term business strategy by resizing certain teams and steering the business toward profitable and sustainable growth.

The founders further stated there are specific roles that are not in line with the current business priorities and went on to add,

“We’ve tried our utmost to explore various alternatives, but current market realities compel us to take some tough decisions. We believe that this is the right thing to do for the business. We understand the emotional toll of this decision, and we bear its weight, both in responsibility and in emotion.”

CoinDCX achieved “unicorn” status in August 2021 after securing $90 million in a Series C funding round. The crypto exchange further increased its valuation to over $2 billion by raising an additional $135 million last April.

India Crypto Taxation

India has enforced significant taxes on cryptocurrencies, which encompass a 30% tax on profits generated from digital assets and the more contentious 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on all transactions starting from February 1, 2022.

The implementation of TDS, coupled with the global downturn in the crypto market, has adversely affected trading volumes and, subsequently, on revenue of many crypto firms in the country, including CoinDCX.

The Indian government revealed collecting only around $7.4 million in TDS on crypto transfers during July-December 2022.  Hence, anticipations were high that the finance ministry would reduce the tax rate to a range of 0.05% to 0.1%, aligning with the industry’s request. However, the authorities did not grant any such relief.