“Last year, we staffed many of our operational functions with the assumption that the increased retail engagement we had seen with the stock and crypto markets in the COVID era would continue through 2022,” Tenev wrote in a message to employees. “In this new environment we are working with more staff than necessary.”
He added: “As CEO, I approved our ambitious personnel journey and took responsibility – this is up to me.”
The layoffs will affect employees in all positions of the company, with operations, marketing and program management being the hardest hit, he said. The company planned to notify all employees via email and Slack on Tuesday with their status and resources if they were affected.
As his business grew, Robinhood Crypto failed to invest the right resources and attention to develop and maintain a culture of compliance — a failure that resulted in significant violations of the department’s anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations, Adrienne A. Harris, the department superintendent said in a statement.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misrepresented the percentage decline in Robinhood’s assets in custody. They fell by 37% in the second quarter.