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Bitget is expanding its operations in the Middle East and will hire new staff members as part of plans to scale globally. The crypto exchange said it already has office space in downtown Dubai, but that is only the beginning of its plans.

“We hope to scale our Middle East team rapidly to support business growth, with between 30 to 60 hires over the next 2 years,” Bitget Managing Director Gracy Chen said in a statement. “We may consider selecting Dubai as an operational hub.”

The company is “exploring license applications” so it can operate in select Middle East markets. Founded in 2018, Bitget launched in Turkey earlier this year.

The company serves more than 8 million users from over 100 countries and regions. Its share of the global market grew during the second quarter of the year, rising to 8.7% from 6.9% and ranking it as the world’s fourth largest exchange, according to a report from crypto research firm TokenInsight.

The same report showed that market leading exchange Binance saw its share decline slightly.

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Sequoia Capital has parted ways with two crypto investors amid a VC team reshuffle that saw five partners recently leave the venture capital firm.

Daniel Chen, who describes himself on Twitter as a “crypto maxi,” and junior partner Michelle Fradin, one of Sequoia’s FTX investors, left the firm recently, according to a note sent to investors yesterday, Bloomberg reported. Long-term partner Michael Moritz, Mike Vernal and Kais Khimji are also leaving.

Fradin and Chen were heavily involved in the firm’s crypto investments. The move comes after Sequoia suffered significant reputational damage following FTX’s 2022 collapse, resulting in a $213.5 million loss for the firm as the investment became worthless, primarily affecting its global growth fund. However, the firm said the cost basis of the investment accounted for “less than 3% of the committed capital of the fund,” at the time.

Other key departures

Michael Moritz, a partner with the firm for nearly 40 years, has also stepped away to concentrate on Sequoia Heritage, a wealth management business he helped establish. The firm oversees over $15 billion in funds, a significant portion of which belongs to Moritz’s family foundation, Crankstart. 

Additional exits include partners Kais Khimji and Mike Vernal. Khimji primarily focused on later-stage companies. Vernal is set to take a sabbatical.

In March, Sequoia participated in a $7.5 million seed fundraise for crypto security and custody startup Turnkey, alongside Variant and Coinbase.

Sequoia Capital’s total venture assets stand at over $50 billion, according to an SEC filing.

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.