Matter Labs Workforce Reduction

Matter Labs, a German company behind the Ethereum Layer 2 protocol ZKsync, has reduced its workforce by approximately 16%.

CEO Statement

Cofounder and CEO Alex Gluchowski stated:

“From day 1, Matter Labs embraced the philosophy of being a lean and focused team committed to a singular mission — accelerating the mass adoption of crypto for personal sovereignty.”

He emphasized that staying small and focused has allowed the company to maintain impactful innovation and adapt to changing market conditions.

Changing Business Environment

Gluchowski noted significant changes in the market and business needs throughout the year. Many teams utilizing ZKsync Era require different technologies and support than they did previously. At the same time, there has been an increasing demand for ZK Chains.

Founded in 2018, Matter Labs has raised $458 million across four funding rounds, as reported by Tracxn.

ZKsync Performance

ZKsync has had the highest seven-day moving average of transactions among ZK-powered Layer 2 Ethereum networks for most of this year. However, it has seen a decline over the past few months, with active addresses dropping from over 455,000 in April to approximately 92,620 as of Monday, according to The Block’s data dashboards.

Strategy Reevaluation

Gluchowski mentioned that the launch of the Elastic Chain and ZK Nation prompted a reevaluation of Matter Labs’ strategy, goals, and team structure.

“We went through a large org planning exercise, and it became clear that the talent and roles we have today do not perfectly match our needs,” he noted on X. “We then reviewed every single role in the company to ensure we have the right people in the right place, to remain agile and effective.”