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Hong Kong headquartered fintech XanPool, which runs a fiat-gateway software solution for exchanges, wallets, and other cryptocurrency businesses, is reportedly axing almost 40 staff, while closing its offices in Singapore and Malaysia.
The company said the layoffs were "a reaction to the turbulence in global markets over the past few months," according to a Wednesday report by TechinAsia, which estimated its total headcount to be under 100.
“Funding markets are not what they used to be…Friendliness towards crypto-fiat gateways is also at all-time lows, and we’re setting ourselves up for the coming years, not months,” a spokesperson told the publication.
Related: Crypto Startups Put Funding on Ice
XanPool, which launched in 2019, raised $35 million from new investor Target Global and $6 million from existing investor Antler Elevate in the second quarter of 2022, valuing the company at $400 million. It previously raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures, a venture capital firm co-founded by PayPal co-creator Peter Thiel, and hoped to grow its user base "by 20x to 10 million users across the APAC."
The company was founded by Hong Kong-based engineer and entrepreneur Jeffrey Liu, who serves as CEO, and CTO Artem Ibraginov, a Singapore-based software architect. Partners listed on its website include ByBit, Stellar, Binance, StraitsX, Bithumb and more.
The company had plans to expand to markets outside of the Asia-Pacific, including Europe, South America and the Middle East. Now, the company wants to established a new research and development hub in Thailand.
XanPool isn't the only crypto-related startup feeling the heat, despite the industry experiencing a revival in 2023 - once-hot startups and firms are now competing in a chilly capital funding market, especially in digital assets, including blockchain firms, as Blockhead previously reported.
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