UPDATE 1-Crypto broker Genesis taps insider as interim chief, cuts jobs by 20%

(Adds details on job cuts)

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Genesis Trading on Wednesday named chief operating officer Derar Islim as the interim head of the crypto broker and said it had reduced its headcount by 20%.

Islim is replacing Michael Moro, who is stepping away from the CEO role effective Wednesday, the company said.

The New York-based company is the latest in the cryptocurrency space to be hit by the so-called "crypto winter", which has compelled a string of high profile firms to shrink their workforce in recent months.

Before the layoffs, Genesis employed nearly 260 people, a spokesperson for the company said.

Last month, Genesis disclosed it had exposure to bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, another casualty of the receding interest in digital assets.

The company, however, had mitigated its losses after Three Arrows failed to meet a margin call, outgoing CEO Moro said at the time, adding that Genesis parent Digital Currency Group had assumed some of the crypto broker's liabilities.

Genesis has also named Tom Conheeney, who was the president of former hedge fund SAC Capital and its successor Point72 Asset Management, as a senior advisor.

Moro will advise the company through the transition, Genesis said, adding it had begun to search for a full-time chief executive. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)