FalconX, the digital asset prime brokerage that acquired crypto ETF issuer 21shares final November, has laid off roughly 10% of its international workforce because it prepares for a protracted downturn within the cryptocurrency market, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Citing folks accustomed to the matter, Bloomberg mentioned FalconX can be reshaping its technique in Singapore by specializing in crypto derivatives buying and selling and plans to withdraw its license utility with the Financial Authority of Singapore. The corporate intends to keep up its presence in Asia whereas increasing its European enterprise.
FalconX employed about 350 folks throughout america, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong earlier than the layoffs.
Cointelegraph contacted a FalconX spokesperson for remark however didn’t obtain an instantaneous response.
The reported workforce discount provides FalconX to a rising listing of crypto corporations scaling again operations through the market downturn, becoming a member of exchanges together with Coinbase, Crypto.com, Luno and Gemini, and infrastructure supplier BitGo.
Associated: Ethereum Basis sacks 20% of workforce amid strategic restructuring
Crypto exchanges pivot past spot buying and selling
Crypto exchanges have been beneath strain as Bitcoin (BTC) and different digital belongings retreated from final 12 months’s highs, weighing on buying and selling volumes and retail participation. As Cointelegraph reported, some analysts consider Bitcoin has but to succeed in a market backside, suggesting the business may face continued headwinds.
Bitcoin was final buying and selling under $64,000, roughly 50% under its October peak above $126,000.
In response, many exchanges are increasing past spot buying and selling. In response to a current CoinGecko report, the “crypto TradFi” sector, which incorporates tokenized belongings, derivatives and different conventional monetary merchandise, grew fivefold to $6.6 billion between January 2025 and June 2026.
Tokenized shares and commodities have emerged as main drivers of crypto TradFi development. Supply: CoinGecko
Coinbase’s newest earnings underscore that shift. Though the corporate missed earnings expectations, it reported that 88% of second-quarter web income got here from companies aside from spot Bitcoin buying and selling, with derivatives, prediction markets and tokenized belongings enjoying an more and more essential function.
Journal: Dubai tops Asian crypto hubs, Taiwan passes crypto legal guidelines: Asia Specific