In the midst of the turmoil in the digital asset market caused by the collapse of the FTX exchange, Amber Group, one of Asia’s top crypto platforms, has continued to lay off employees and postponed a funding round.
Worldwide locations were affected by the job cuts at the Singapore-based company, whose investors include Temasek Holdings Pte and Sequoia China, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked to remain anonymous discussing private information.
The fallout from FTX has caused Amber’s planned $100 million funding round, which would have maintained the startup’s valuation at $3 billion, to be paused, the source said, adding that the company is now looking for a different funding round. Amber had already secured some planned $100 million fundraising that was divided up into multiple parts.
The $2 trillion decline in the value of tokens and significant explosions, the most spectacular of which is FTX, have agitated the crypto market.
Online rumours that Amber might be the next domino to fall have been debunked by Amber itself. After a blockchain data provider claimed it faced bankruptcy based on an analysis of cryptocurrency holdings and transfers, a top executive tweeted on Wednesday that the company is operating “business as usual.”
According to the knowledgeable source, Amber continues to process trades, withdrawals, and deposits as usual. In response to rumors that Amber had closed its offices in China, the person added that the company doesn’t have any presence there.
Amber attempted to wrap up layoffs in November, but the market downturn forced additional reductions, leaving the company’s employee count in Europe at just ten, the source claimed.
Less than 10% of Amber’s trading capital, according to previous statements, is still on FTX, and the funds are not “a threat” to the company’s operations.
The familiar party claimed that while Amber’s overall trading capital has decreased since FTX’s demise, business operations are unaffected.
Former traders from Morgan Stanley founded Amber in 2018, and in February it raised $200 million at a $3 billion valuation.
According to the company website, the platform’s traded volume exceeds $1 trillion and there are more than 1,000 institutional clients. The company announced in September that up to 10% of its staff had been let go.
Tiantian Kullander, a co-founder of Amber, died unexpectedly in his sleep in November at the age of 30.
