Consensys lays off 20% of staff. Is it because of the SEC?

The Web3 company Consensys must let 20 percent of its employees go. Founder Joseph Lubin puts the onus on the SEC.

Consensys must let go 163 of its 828 employees because of this decision. According to reports, this layoff affects employees from every division of the Web3 company. Founder Joseph Lubin cited increasing competition and difficult economic conditions as reasons for the layoffs. On Platform X, he wrote: "To remain competitive, we must adapt to become more flexible, effective and stronger."

Lubin additionally places some of the responsibility on the U.S. regulator SEC. In write a blog post he said the lack of clear regulations in some markets makes it unnecessarily complicated for companies to move into the industry. He adds, "Multiple lawsuits lead to job losses due to abuse of power by the SEC."

Consensys was recently involved in a legal battle with the SEC. First, the SEC indicated it wanted to sue Consensys through a so-called Wells Notice, but the company got ahead of the SEC and sued them themselves. However, this suit was dismissed.

Despite these challenges, Lubin stressed that Consensys is in good shape and now wants to focus on the "biggest part" of the business, probably the popular Web3 wallet MetaMask.

The SEC is cracking down on alleged violations of law in the crypto world. This year alone, the regulator imposed $4.68 billion in fines on crypto companies, up more than 3,000 percent from 2023.