AirTree Ventures-backed Zepto cuts jobs after cryptocurrency reset
Byron Bay fintech Zepto has laid off 20 per cent of its workforce as part of a restructure to limit its focus on controversial cryptocurrency exchanges and target areas with better growth prospects.
Backed by venture capital outfit AirTree, the real-time payments player plugs customers into the new payments platform and its systems like PayID or the more business-focused PayTo. Zepto did this for Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, until banking partner Cuscal ordered it to boot Binance after Westpac raised concerns about scams involving the exchange.
Westpac’s concerns led to all major banks issuing bans on transfers to “high-risk” cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance. The Australian Financial Crimes Exchange says half of scam proceeds are washed through exchanges.
Zepto, whose chief executive is Chris Jewell, rolled out the restructure in June after major banks rushed to limit transactions to “high risk” crypto exchanges.
A Zepto spokesman said that, while the business had reduced its focus on cryptocurrency exchanges, the redundancies – 19 people – were “not related to off-boarding Binance as a customer”.
“Zepto continues to process payments for cryptocurrency exchanges. These exchanges only represent a small proportion of our customer base,” he said.
The restructure occurred in June, the same month Zepto asked crypto exchange customers to declare they had appropriate controls to protect the users of their services from fraud and introduced new restrictions on crypto transfers like a 24-hour holding period following the Binance issue.
Zepto said during the survey that it would no longer service exchanges if they failed to comply. The company said it still worked with Coinbase, another big global
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