ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lupin said in a Jan. 18 letter that the firm is focusing on scaling its core offerings and will lay off 96 employees – 11% of its workforce to “adjust to challenging and uncertain market.”

The CEO said:

We are extremely grateful for their contributions and the work they’ve accomplished. Each of the impacted employees will be notified today by their manager.

The CEO said ConsenSys would provide “generous packages” to assist laid-off employees.  This would cover severance packages according to tenure, an extended option exercise window from 12 months to 36 months, customized placement assistance, and healthcare benefits in certain jurisdictions.

Joseph Lupin has also stressed accomplishing two goals – reducing operating expenses and strengthening the product teams. 

As part of this initiative, ConsenSys recently announced the ConsenSys zkEVM Private Beta test net for selected users on Jan. 10. 

A dig at centralized finance

The CEO discussed centralized entities that capitalized the interest in cryptocurrencies by offering ways to earn yield on crypto assets.

Joseph Lupin also recalled risks exposed and exploited by the centralized companies last year. In his view, the centralized ecosystem is much more similar to traditional finance: third-party custody, third-party payments, illicit finance, and market manipulation. 

Joseph Lupin said: 

This challenging moment we are facing as an industry presents an opportunity to move from outsourcing trust to organizations that have failed repeatedly, to a future where decentralized systems automate trust and enable individuals and communities to exercise control over their own digital assets and their financial futures.

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