Temasek-backed crypto group Amber to end Chelsea FC sponsorship, axe over 40% of jobs in FTX fallout
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The sponsorship deal with Chelsea FC was reported to be worth £20 million (S$33 million) a year.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SAN FRANCISCO - Amber Group, one of Asia’s leading crypto trading and lending platforms, is cutting jobs, scrapping retail operations and terminating a sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club in the latest retrenchment to hit the digital-asset sector.
The decisions are part of a major cost-cutting strategy, according to a source familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The Singapore-based crypto company, whose backers include Temasek and Sequoia China, will slash its workforce to less than 400 from about 700
The moves by Amber are just the latest indication of the diminished outlook for virtual assets following the spectacular bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange and sister trading house Alameda Research a month ago.
Amber will now focus on large institutions, family offices and wealthy individuals, the source said, adding that customer numbers will fall to about 100 from the hundreds of thousands, because of the exit from the retail sector.
The company in recent days has rebutted online speculation that it may be the next domino to fall after a series of blow-ups in the crypto sector, which is reeling from a US$2 trillion (S$2.7 trillion) rout. A top executive tweeted on Wednesday that the company is conducting “business as usual”.
Amber plans to move to a cheaper office space in Hong Kong, while some smaller offices in other regions will most likely be shuttered, with remaining employees allowed to work from home, the source said.
Chelsea FC and Amber announced a partnership in May that included displaying the logo for Amber’s WhaleFin trading platform on the sleeves of the team’s jersey during the 2022 to 2023 season.
The sponsorship deal was reported to be worth £20 million (S$33 million) a year. The source said Amber was going through the legal process of ending the agreement.
Amber was launched in 2018 by a group of founders that included former Morgan Stanley traders and raised US$200 million at a US$3 billion valuation in February. Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Amber had put fund raising for US$100 million on hold.
One of the company’s co-founders, Mr Tiantian Kullander, died unexpectedly in his sleep in November at the age of 30. BLOOMBERG
