In a strategic move, the NEAR Foundation has declared its intention to reduce its workforce by approximately 40%, affecting 35 staff members. This decision is part of the NEAR Foundation realignment effort aimed at enhancing efficiency and focusing on high-impact activities.
Details of the Realignment
Despite the NEAR Protocol’s significant achievements in 2023, including hosting three of the top ten Web3 applications, attracting a record number of daily users, and forming numerous partnerships within the Ethereum community, the Foundation felt the need for a realignment. The decision followed an internal review that revealed inefficiencies, slow progress, and an overextension of efforts.
The layoffs will primarily affect the community, business development, and marketing teams, while the engineering team remains untouched. The Foundation anticipates further contraction as the ecosystem decentralizes and more nodes become active within the NEAR network.
Support for Departing Employees and Future Plans
The NEAR Foundation has committed to assisting the affected employees in finding new opportunities within the Web3 industry and the NEAR ecosystem. The protocol will now focus on chain abstraction, mainstream Open Web adoption, and user-owned AI, with increased efficiency, speed, and focus. The Foundation also reassured that its treasury, amounting to over $1 billion in NEAR and $285 million in fiat, remains robust and secure.
Industry-wide Restructuring
NEAR Foundation’s layoffs aren’t an anomaly. Other crypto-related firms have also been undergoing restructuring. For instance, Blackrock plans to reduce its workforce by 3%, which is unrelated to capital issues but instead linked to employee performance. In 2023, over 13,400 employees across 108 crypto firms worldwide were affected by layoffs. Major crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Binance also downsized their workforce.
As the crypto industry navigates through these changes, platforms like cryptoview.io can provide valuable insights and data. This application can help users stay updated on the latest developments and trends in the crypto world, including the NEAR Foundation realignment effort.
Despite the challenges, the crypto industry continues to evolve and adapt, demonstrating its resilience and potential for growth. The NEAR Foundation’s realignment is a testament to this adaptability, signifying a strategic shift towards efficiency and high-impact activities.
