Solana NFT Protocol Metaplex Announces Layoffs in Wake of FTX Collapse

Solana NFT protocol maker Metaplex announced on Thursday that it has undergone a company-wide round of layoffs, as the contagion induced by crypto exchange FTX’s collapse last week continues to spread across the Web3 ecosystem. 

An undisclosed number of Metaplex employees were pink-slipped today due to worsening market conditions for crypto generally, and for Solana particularly, the company’s co-founder and CEO Stephen Hess announced today in a tweet. 

“While our treasury wasn’t directly impacted by the collapse of FTX and our fundamentals remain strong, the indirect impact on the market is significant and requires that we take a more conservative approach moving forward,” Hess wrote. 

The company did not immediately respond to questions from Decrypt.

Metaplex is the protocol that powers NFTs on Solana, which has taken root as an alternative NFT network to dominant Ethereum. The company started the year on a strong…