2TM, Brazil's crypto unicorn, lays off more than 80 employees

2TM, Brazil's crypto unicorn, lays off more than 80 employees

The company cited "the changing global financial landscape" as the reason. Its main competitor in Latin America, Bitso, had laid off a similar number of employees last week.

This article was acquired by CoinDesk Brasil, a partnership between CoinDesk and InfoMoney, one of Brazil's leading financial news services. Follow CoinDesk Brasil on Twitter.

2TM, the holding company of Bitcoin Market - Brazil's largest crypto exchange by market value - laid off more than 80 employees on Wednesday.

"The changing global financial landscape, rising interest rates and inflation are having a major impact on technology companies," 2TM said in a statement, without giving an exact number of the layoffs, although it published a list of 86 terminated profiles along with their contacts.

Read this article in Spanish.

The company also said that "this scenario requires adjustments that go beyond reducing operating costs and require the layoff of some of our employees."

According to its LinkedIn page, Bitcoin Market has more than 580 employees, while 2TM has more than 80.

2TM's announcement comes a week after Bitso, Mercado Bitcoin's main competitor in Brazil, laid off 80 employees, citing a "long-term business strategy."

Also last week, Argentine exchange Buenbit laid off 45% of its staff - about 80 employees - due to "global restructuring" in the technology industry, the company said.

2TM became Latin America's second crypto unicorn after raising a total of $250 million in 2021, reaching a valuation of $2.1 billion.

In January, the company acquired a majority stake in CriptoLoja, Portugal's first regulated cryptocurrency exchange. The company also had plans to enter the Spanish-speaking Latin American region through acquisitions in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, 2TM CEO Roberto Dagnoni told CoinDesk in June 2021.

In March, Bitcoin Market had entered talks to be acquired by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN), but negotiations fell through, Bloomberg reported in May.

This article was translated by Marina Lammertyn.