The CEO's plea: Invest in infrastructure now

Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me, which is one of the market leaders, plans to double its staff over the next 12 months. The company's co-founder and CEO Leif Ferreira told CoinDesk that it will add 250 employees to its ranks during that period.

The company has signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) for three acquisitions - a 90% stake in a Latin American exchange, along with purchases of a fintech company and a software developer, both based in Spain - Ferreira said. The details will be released later in 2022.

"In the face of many layoffs, now is when we should build and hold," Ferreira said. "Crypto will not stop, no matter how much prices have fallen."

Ferreira said the company will use cash on hand, including part of the €20 million it raised through an ICO in 2021, to fund its hiring and acquisitions. "We are open to a strategic partner coming in," he said.

In February, Bit2Me was granted the first license from the Bank of Spain as a "provider of services for the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency and digital wallet custody," following its announcement.

Bit 2Me, based in Spain, operates in Portugal, Italy and France in Europe as well as Brazil and Peru in Latin America. The company has 600,000 users; 70% of them are from Spain. In 2021 the trading volume was €1.1 billion.

Ferreira said that Mastercard's second-half plans include the launch of a debit card, a futures trading platform, a lending service, and an e-commerce feature that allows payments to be made via cryptocurrencies.