Bitmaintech Israel's Ra'anana research and development center is closing due to the general downturn in cryptocurrency markets, according to a report from financial publication Globes.
All 23 employees, including Bitmain Vice President of Sales and Marketing Gadi Glickberg, were fired. Just a couple of months ago, it was reported that the company was planning hire an additional 40 people for research work at this center.
According to the information, Glickberg told his employees:
Over the past few months, the cryptocurrency market has weakened significantly, which has forced Bitmain to reconsider its activities throughout world and reorient the business in accordance with the current situation.
The BitmainTech Israel department was opened in 2016, it was engaged in developments on the blockchain, as well as artificial intelligence for the Sophon company project.
The prolonged bearish trend in the cryptocurrency market led to layoffs at other companies. Last week, ConsenSys studio laid off 13% of its employees due to changing business priorities. And last month, blockchain startup Steemit laid off approximately 70% of its employees because the company's profits could not cover the rising costs of operating Steem nodes.
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