Why Are So Many Crypto CEOs Leaving?
Management shake-ups are hitting crypto in what some are calling crypto’s “great resignation.”
On Monday, it was announced that Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss – twin of Tyler – is stepping down as director of Gemini Europe. The news, announced in a UK regulatory filing, comes as the wholly-owned Gemini subsidiary maps out expansion into the well-known tax haven of Ireland.
This article is taken from The Node, CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the top stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the whole newsletter here.
No formal reason was given for Winklevoss’ move, but it comes amid a wave of C-Suite shuffling across the digital asset industry. Increasing regulatory challenges as well as a market route lasting several months have led to a number of redundancies.
Among the most notable departures or layoffs, for very different reasons, are Genesis CEO Michael Moro, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, all announced in recent weeks. Alameda Research co-CEO Sam Trabucco also resigned, as did FTX.US President Brett Harrison.
Then there’s Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky and Daniel Leon, who served as the now-bankrupt crypto-neobank’s CEO and chief strategy officer, respectively. The crypto lender is going through a difficult Chapter 11 restructuring, and it seems likely that Mashinsky could face a lawsuit.
The reasons for these emigrations vary from case to case. In many cases, it seems like individual attempts to save face after making bad business decisions, or the result of pressure from a company’s board or owners.
Moro threw in the towel, for example, after Genesis got into bed with the overzealous and potentially criminal hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which apparently lost institutional lending firm Genesis a whopping $1.2 billion. Genesis, like CoinDesk, is owned by Digital Currency Group.
Michael Saylor, the longtime CEO of business intelligence company MicroStrategy, led the firm’s first bitcoin purchase in 2020, essentially turning the firm into a BTC investment fund.
MicroStrategy’s BTC purchases seemed prescient in 2020, ahead of the bull run – and were even said to catalyze other corporate entities to keep bitcoin “on balance sheet” as a hedge against inflation – but are now deep in the red. Saylor continued to buy, even as the market turned against him, while most other publicly traded firms have not. He remains with MicroStrategy as Executive Chairman.
Krakens Powell founded the exchange in 2011 and has long been known as one of crypto’s most ideologically driven leaders. This year, the libertarian-leaning former CEO was accused of fostering a toxic workplace culture after making outspoken remarks and setting “anti-Woke” policies.
Powell, like Saylor, said he is stepping down as CEO to continue focusing on crypto advocacy. In some cases, these shifts work. David Marcus, who oversaw the Libra project at Facebook before both were renamed, has emerged as a thoughtful industry commentator and CEO of Bitcoin Lightning-focused Lightspark.
See also: Crypto Exchange Crypto.com’s Downsizing Bigger Than Reported
Like the broader tech industry, several crypto firms have put hiring freezes in place and started rounds of layoffs. Bear markets, where the goal is simply to survive as users and capital pour out, require a very different set of leadership skills than bull markets, where growth and market dominance seem to be all that matters.
However, the difficult thing about crypto is that management can be difficult to hire. Many companies, most notably Coinbase, have relied on hiring from within due to the complexity of the industry. Decent managers need to have an understanding of crypto’s technicalities as well as the desire to lead in such a volatile market.
