Key player in the bitcoin market, Paxos has generated buzz with an unusual action. About twenty percent of the company’s workforce—roughly 65 people—were recently let go. But rather than indicating financial difficulty, this choice seems to be a deliberate gamble.
Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla presented the layoffs as a strategic change to “best execute on the massive opportunity ahead in tokenization and stablecoins,” according a PYMNTS report.
Paxos: Cashing In On ‘Safer Yield’
Fascinatingly, Cascarilla underlined the company’s main impetus behind the layoffs—regulated, yield-bearing stablecoins. Usually based on the US dollar, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies connected to a real-world asset meant to provide market stability.
On these coins, certain industry actors do provide high-yield options, which have drawn questions over opacity and risk. With their recently introduced Lift Dollar (USDL), Paxos wants to disturb this space.
Described by Cascarilla as “a first-of-its-kind—a regulated product, earning and paying safe yield on a daily basis,” USDL positions itself as a more dependable substitute in the frequently turbulent world of crypto yields.
Strategic Restructuring For Stablecoin Supremacy
The USDL launch combined with the personnel cut clearly shows Paxos’ ambitions. Simplifying their processes helps them to release resources to focus on the growing stablecoin sector.
Reports indicate that this calculated turn could establish them as a leader in the “safer yield” stablecoin market, drawing both institutional investors and regular users cautious of more riskier choices.
Still, some analysts keep their distance. Although the company’s financial situation provides some protection, user acceptance and legislative clarity will determine USDL’s long-term survival. Stablecoin market is still developing and there is intense competition.
CEO Upbeat On Company’s Finances
Cascarilla, meantime, voiced hope in the company’s financial resilience in a recent email acquired by Bloomberg despite current difficulties. He underlined the calculated cut in staff, so setting Paxos to seize possibilities in tokenization and stablecoins.
This action follows last year’s cancellation of a major income stream when Paxos broke ties with Binance‘s branded stablecoin in response to US regulatory pressure.
Paxos is turning its attention now. Bloomberg’s sources indicate that Paxos intends to focus on increasing its stablecoin offers and investigating asset tokenizing prospects by pulling out from settlement services in commodities and securities.
Following a NYDFS probe on the release of the BUSD stablecoin earlier this year, Paxos’s reaction to more government scrutiny is shown in the severance of their agreement with Binance.
Notwithstanding these challenges, Paxos is strong and releases new stablecoin solutions including PayPal USD in 2023 underlined by full backed by US dollar deposits and related assets.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView