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Crypto company Binance has reportedly laid off more than 1,000 people in recent weeks as it battles federal investigations and regulatory crackdowns in the United States. 

The global cuts included about three dozen customer-service employees in India, Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a person familiar with the moves. 

The layoffs could result in the crypto major losing a third of its total workforce.

The development was confirmed to the publication by a Binance spokesman who declined to give a concrete number on the layoffs.

“As we prepare for the next major bull cycle, it has become clear that we need to focus on talent density across the organisation to ensure we remain nimble and dynamic. This is not a case of rightsizing, but rather re-evaluating whether we have the right talent and expertise in critical roles,” he said.

Last week, a string of executives, including chief strategy officer general counsel and head of investigations, quit Binance.

Binance had a global staff of 8,000 before the layoff exercise. 

More employees were laid off this week, according to former employees quoted in the report; they said customer-service workers were the most affected. 

The layoffs come in the wake of fears of action by the Justice Department on the crypto exchange and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, as they battle serious allegations by the authorities for operating a “web of deception”. 

In June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued the exchange and its CEO, alleging they violated federal securities laws by offering unregistered securities to the general public in the form of BNB crypto tokens and Binance-linked BUSD stablecoins.

The lawsuit also claimed that Binance’s staking service violated securities laws and accused Binance of commingling customer funds. It implied that Zhao had undisclosed control over Binance.US, with a Zhao-owned entity artificially inflating the platform’s trading volume.

Binance denied all the allegations and has said it would defend itself “vigorously.”