Safe, a self-custody crypto infrastructure provider, recently made the difficult decision to lay off 14 team members as part of a major restructure. This move comes in the wake of a $1.43 billion theft from crypto exchange Bybit, which was linked back to a compromised Safe developer machine.
In a post on X, Safe’s co-founder Lukas Schor expressed the challenges that led to this decision. He mentioned that the growing complexity within the company and the increasing expectations from projects building on Safe were key factors. As the ecosystem evolved and opportunities expanded, the company scaled its efforts to explore new paths. However, this growth brought about coordination challenges that began to impact the company’s ability to move at the expected pace.
To support the employees who are leaving, Safe is offering extended garden leave, increased severance, improved token vesting terms, and job placement support within the Ethereum ecosystem. The company will now operate through three new teams: a revenue-focused product company, an innovation-focused R&D lab, and an ecosystem-focused foundation. Each team will have autonomy and be more focused, agile, and aligned with the expectations of the ecosystem.
The reorganization comes shortly after the Bybit theft, which was a result of an attack on a Safe developer environment by the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor. The breach occurred when a Docker project, disguised as a “stock investment simulator,” was downloaded onto a Safe developer’s Mac. This project communicated with a suspicious domain, leading to the installation of malware.
Despite these challenges, Safe is committed to moving forward and ensuring the security of its platform. The company remains dedicated to providing self-custody crypto infrastructure and supporting the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem.