Vijay Ayyar, a senior government at cryptocurrency change Luno and considered one of its earliest staff, is leaving the corporate.
Ayyar, who’s Luno’s vice chairman of company growth and worldwide, resigned from the agency after seven years working there, he advised CNBC Tuesday.
It comes after the corporate, which is owned by Digital Forex Group, introduced the closure of its operation in Singapore, the place Ayyar is predicated.
Ayyar stated the transfer was not associated to Luno’s resolution to exit Singapore, nevertheless, and that he stop to affix one other firm within the crypto and Web3 area. Ayyar didn’t disclose which firm he’s becoming a member of subsequent.
“I’ll be leaving Luno after 7 years on the firm,” Ayyar stated in a WhatsApp message. “Given the time I’d spent at Luno, simply appeared prefer it was time for one more problem.”
A Luno spokesperson confirmed Ayyar’s resolution Tuesday.
“Vijay will probably be leaving after seven years,” the spokesperson stated. “His function is a world one and isn’t tied to something associated to our Singapore closure. He’s leaving to pursue a brand new alternative within the trade.”
Ayyar held numerous roles at Luno over time. He was most just lately tasked with constructing out the agency’s business-facing providers, pitching Luno accounts to funds, fintech corporations, and companies wanting to make use of crypto.
Earlier than that, Ayyar led Luno’s partnership efforts globally and helped the change launch in over 40 markets throughout Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and the U.S.
Along with his company tasks at Luno, Ayyar additionally serves as one thing of a crypto market guru, offering frequent commentary to the press on strikes in markets.
His departure comes as Luno undergoes a serious restructuring effort to cope with the lull in crypto markets. Luno laid off 35% of its workforce in January, becoming a member of a bunch of different crypto exchanges which have minimize jobs.
The corporate additionally misplaced its co-founder and chief expertise officer, Timothy Stranex, in December.
In March, Luno introduced its CEO Marcus Swanepoel was stepping down and would get replaced with Chief Working Officer James Lanigan.
The corporate employed Canaccord Genuity, the funding financial institution, to courtroom exterior traders for the primary time because it was taken over by DCG in 2020.
DCG, Luno’s father or mother firm, has been grappling with the continuing fallout from final yr’s plunge in token costs, and the collapse of FTX, the controversial change whose failure in November sparked a collection of bankruptcies within the trade.
WATCH: FTX’s collapse is shaking crypto to its core. The pain may not be over