Robinhood lays off 7% of staff to 'adjust to volumes': WSJ

Quick Take

  • Robinhood has laid off 7% of its staff, according to the Wall Street Journal. 
  • Citing an internal memo penned by chief financial officer Jason Warnick, the firm laid off staff to adjust to environment of low trading activity. 

Crypto and equities brokerage firm Robinhood has laid off about 7% of its staff, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. 

Citing an internal memo penned by chief financial officer Jason Warnick, the WSJ reported that the firm cut about 150 employees to adjust to a market under pressure from declining trading activity and a less ravenous userbase compared to the heady days of the meme stock frenzy. 

As per the memo, layoffs were made to "adjust to volumes and to better align team structures."

Robinhood has cut more than 1,000 employees in two layoffs last year. 

As for crypto, the firm reported in May a year-on-year decline in crypto trading revenue of 30%. In the wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit against Coinbase and Binance, the firm ended support for a number of cryptocurrencies, including Solana and Cardano — a move that could put further pressure on its crypto trading volumes. 

To be sure, Robinhood isn't alone. A relatively somnolent crypto market has resulted in lower trading volumes across the board, which in turns means less profit for companies facilitating trading. The seven day moving average for crypto exchange volumes is hovering below $20 billion — sharply down from an all-time high of over $150 billion. Still, BlackRock's filing for a spot bitcoin ETF has kicked off a rally that's helped to elevate volumes slightly. 


© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].

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