Centralized crypto exchange Bybit has carried out a fresh round of layoffs. The company’s CEO Ben Zhou made the announcement in a Twitter post on Sunday.

Zhou also said that the exchange is refocusing and reorganizing the company to survive the “deepening bear market.”

“The planned downsizing will be across the board. We are all saddened by the fact this reorganisation will impact many of our dear Bybuddies and some of our oldest friends. I am very grateful for all of their contributions to Bybit over the years and we will not forget them,” he said.

An independent Chinese reporter, Colin Wu, reported that the layoffs ratio was around 30% of the company. The fired employees will receive three months’ worth of salary.

Despite the layoffs, Zhou offered optimistic words about the future of Bybit in the bear market.

“For the rest of us who will carry on the mission and vision of Bybit, it's important to ensure Bybit has the right structure and resources in place to navigate the market slowdown and is nimble enough to seize the many opportunities ahead. That way we can continue to deliver the crypto ark to the world with even more drive and passion,” Zhou added.

This is the second round of layoffs at Bybti this year. In June, the derivatives exchange announced it was cutting its headcount around the same time the Terra Luna debacle happened. The job cuts also amounted to around 30%.

Bybit joins Coinbase and other centralized exchanges that have aggressively laid off employees this year. In June, Coinbase reduced its headcount by 18%, which impacted over 1,100 jobs. In November, the exchange again fired over 60 people in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams. It cited the need to operate more efficiently.

Bybit is a centralized exchange known for derivatives trading. If it has been forced to have two rounds of job cuts in a year, it means it’s struggling to survive in this bear market. Additionally, this is indicative of how low retail participation in crypto trading is compared to what it was at the bull market’s peak last year.