Cryptocurrency tax startup TaxBit, which has dual headquarters in Seattle and Salt Lake City, is laying off 15% of its staff.
A company spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed the layoffs to the Business Journal but didn't provide specifics on how many Seattle-based employees were affected or how many employees remain at the company. In a statement, the company said last year "was a year of unprecedented growth in cryptocurrency adoption," but TaxBit's customers experienced slower growth or bankruptcy as market conditions shifted in the second half of this year.
"At the same time, the industry’s challenges from lack of regulatory oversight have also led to a greater appreciation for compliance and demand for such services," TaxBit said in the statement to the Business Journal. "At this critical juncture, we need the right skills in the right roles aligned to the right priorities. We are taking action today best to prepare us for the next phase of growth."
TaxBit is providing three months of severance to laid-off employees, as well as paid health care premiums and accelerated vesting condition of equity grants. The company is also providing $5,000 to cover external immigration counsel and support for employees on a work visa.
In a LinkedIn post, one former employee said the layoffs impacted TaxBit's blockchain team.
TaxBit, founded in 2017, provides crypto tax software aimed at individuals, enterprises and government entities. The company also offers tax solutions for digital assets like non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The company says it filed more than 30 million tax forms in 2022 and has worked with more than 5 million taxpayers.
The layoffs come after an impressive 2021 for TaxBit. The company landed $100 million in March of 2021 and $130 million a few months later in August, when its value hit $1.33 billion. TaxBit opened its Seattle headquarters in July 2021 in the Butcher's Table building near Amazon's Denny Triangle campus. TaxBit co-founder and CEO Austin Woodward said in August last year that the company had more than 80 total employees but planned to triple that by the end of 2021. The company had about 10 Seattle-based employees at the time.
Many cryptocurrency companies are struggling in the current economic climate. The cryptocurrency exchange FTX, once valued at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy in November. The crypto exchange Kraken laid off 30% of its company, or about 1,100 people, that same month, while the exchange Crypto.com laid off 2,000 employees in October.
