NFT giant Dapper Labs announces layoffs of 51 staff members

The digital asset market is experiencing one of its longest, most bitter winters in recent history, prompting a new round of crypto job cuts by established companies in the sector. The leading NFT firm and creator of the NBA Top Shot marketplace announced the layoff of 51 staff members.

The latest round includes job cuts for full-time employees as well as C1 contractors.

Another round of layoffs at Dapper Labs

Roham Gharegozlu, CEO of Dapper Labs announced It said on 13 July that the move was necessary to ensure a “lean and efficient” company amid a recessionary market.

“We said goodbye to 51 wonderful colleagues and friends at Dapper Labs today – this is the note I sent to our team. We are deeply dedicated to our core communities and committed to creating amazing products that move the world forward together.

This is the third round of layoffs following a 20% headcount cut in February this year, during which Gharegozlu said the move was part of Dapper Labs’ restructuring plans.

The NFT giant has grown from 100 to 600 employees in less than two years. This rapid growth proved detrimental to Dapper’s business and community, leading to the first round of layoffs last November. Then the company had fired 22% of its staff.

In a statement, Gharegozlu stressed that both Dapper Labs and Flow Blockchain remain well capitalized despite the layoffs. The latter is funded with a separate pool of capital so that the team can afford to burn cash for several years without needing to sell tokens to meet short-term goals, as the executive reiterated.

Feeling cold in the NFT market

The NFT landscape has changed drastically since the bear market took hold. Just in the past few weeks minimum prices for some of the largest and most prominent NFT collectibles have dropped to levels not seen in months. Not even popular blue chip projects like Cryptopunks, Bored Apes Yacht Club, Mutant Apes and Azukis have been spared.

recently reports DappRadar also noted the troubling state of the NFT sector, with trading volumes falling 38% to $2.9 billion in Q2. However, it added that trading volume does not necessarily equate to the level of enthusiasm in the market. It is written in the report,

“NFT Sector Displays Resilience Amid Declining Trading Volumes, Less Severe Decrease in Sales Pointing to Sustained Interest.”