“Last year, we staffed many of our operating functions under the assumption that the increased retail engagement we saw with equity and crypto markets in the era of COVID would be sustained through 2022,” Tenev wrote in a message to employees. “In this new environment, we are operating with more staff than is appropriate.” He added: “As CEO, I have approved and taken responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory — that’s mine.” The layoffs will affect employees across the company’s functions, with operations, marketing and program management positions hardest hit, he said. The company planned to notify all employees via email and Slack on Tuesday about their status as well as resources in case they were affected. Separately on Tuesday, the New York Department of Financial Services fined cryptocurrency arm Robinhood $30 million for allegedly violating reporting requirements related to anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations. “As its business grew, Robinhood Crypto failed to invest the appropriate resources and attention to develop and maintain a culture of compliance — a failure that resulted in significant violations of the department’s anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations,” Adrienne A. Harris. the head of the department said in a statement. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the percentage decline in Robinhood’s assets under custody. These fell by 37% in the second quarter.
