The ongoing crypto winter has seen budgets and jobs slashed, but the search for top-tier talent hasn’t stopped across several Web3 verticals, according to some crypto recruitment firms. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Kevin Gibson, founder of crypto recruiting firm Proof of Search said that the majority of staff cuts in the crypto market have been from centralized exchanges, most notably the 18% staff cut at Coinbase in June, 10% cuts at Gemini in July, and the 5% cut at Crypto.com. Despite this, he said there is “still a great deal of demand” for crypto job seekers to get work with “Game-Fi, …
Despite the ongoing cryptocurrency market decline and associated forced layoffs in major crypto firms, a career in crypto doesn’t turn less attractive to many traditional finance executives. European crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider 21Shares announced three major hires on Wednesday to expand its presence in countries like France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Marina Baudéan, 21Shares’ newly appointed head of France, Belgium and Luxembourg, is debuting her crypto career after working for more than 15 years at the British universal bank Barclays. Baudéan is confident that crypto is “all about the next generation of technology,” and it’s here to …
Nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea announced mass layoffs on Thursday, joining other crypto companies in reducing headcount during one of the most volatile periods in the industry’s history. Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer took to Twitter Thursday afternoon to disclose that his company was laying off up to 20% of its staff. In a long message conveyed to employees, Finzer blamed “an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability” for the layoffs. Today is a hard day for OpenSea, as we’re letting go of ~20% of our team. Here’s the note I shared with our team earlier this …
What did you do in the 2022 bear market, anon? For one Bitcoiner, the opportunity to take on a second job to “stack sats” (buy more Bitcoin (BTC)), was too great. Isaiah, the founder of the Cleveland Bitcoin Meetup, is delivering food to Ohio residents to earn cash on the side. Isaiah told Cointelegraph “I joined DoorDash 2 years ago. But I only recently started doing it again once the price fell into the 20[K]s.” DoorDash is an American food delivery service (similar to Glovo or Deliveroo), where riders pick up food from restaurants to take to people’s homes. Isaiah …
The cryptocurrency industry is arguably one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. With its decentralized finance (DeFi) system and blockchain technology, crypto has become an attractive career path for those interested in technology and finance. As expected of any fast-growing sector, growth has also led to a corresponding increase in demand for talented individuals to build the space. According to a KoreanAITimes report, cryptocurrency and blockchain jobs grew by a whopping 118% between September 2020 and July 2021. Even in the correct market downturn, where some firms have paused hiring or cut staff from their rosters, others are actively …
Many in the crypto world have been glued to their screens with eyes dead set on financial conditions this week. That isn’t the case for everyone though, as thousands are suddenly experiencing thewoes of sudden unemployment. Words of encouragement and sympathy also poured out across Twitter and LinkedIn consoling individuals released from their responsibilities. Some expressed frustration, confusion and anger while others expressed gratitude, renewed vision and reflections. My heart is with those recently laid off. I too have been one of the lucky ones to be spared by massive layoffs on days where friends have been let go. This …
Crypto startups have a significant role to play in the development of the entire blockchain industry. However, while many business owners have big ideas that aim to change the world, some fail to invest to develop the most critical aspects of a business, resulting in employees quitting. After being hired by a crypto startup, Roland Guirdonan from Chad, Central Africa, thought he had lucky as he accepted his first job offer in the crypto world. He later realized that while it seemed like a dream job, it was more of a nightmare that he needed to run away from. In …
Sergey Vasylchuk, CEO of Ukraine-based decentralized staking provider Everstake, has said the company will continue to hire crypto professionals amid a market downturn and ongoing conflict in the country. In a Wednesday Twitter thread, Vasylchuk said Everstake had hired 30 people since the Russian war against Ukraine started in February, and the firm still had more than 10 positions in marketing and development to fill. According to the CEO, Everstake is “not firing anybody” and had made preparations for a “special fund” to tide the firm over in the event of a bear market. “An important part of doing business …
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong officially announced on Tuesday that he made a "difficult decision" to reduce the size of the Coinbase team by about 18% due to a starting economic recession. “We appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom. A recession could lead to another crypto winter, and could last for an extended period,” Armstrong wrote. He added that the trading revenue significantly declined during past crypto winters, noting that Coinbase has survived through four major crypto winters since its foundation in 2012. Armstrong emphasized that the firm has been growing “too quickly,” with Coinbase’s …
Major cryptocurrency wallet provider Exodus continues paying its employees in Bitcoin (BTC) despite the ongoing bear market, with the total market cap dropping below $1 trillion on Monday. Since launching its software crypto wallet back in 2015, Exodus has been paying its staff 100% in BTC, Exodus co-founder and CEO JP Richardson told Cointelegraph. The company continued to pay all its 300 employees in BTC even during major market downturns, by providing monthly payroll based on their salary in U.S. dollars. “For example, if Bitcoin is $30,000 per token, and someone makes $15,000 a month, they’ll get half a Bitcoin …
To put things into perspective, since November 2021, the total market capitalization of the digital asset industry has plummeted from it’s all-time high of $3 trillion to its current levels of approx. $1.27 trillion, thus showcasing a loss ratio of over 55%. While this massive monetary downturn can be attributed to a range of factors, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, rising inflation figures and worsening macroeconomic conditions have had a major impact on the crypto job landscape. For example, earlier this month, Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange helmed by the Winklevoss twins, announced that the bear market had forced them to …
Gemini, a cryptocurrency trading platform founded by brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is the latest industry firm to lay off a significant part of its staff due to unfavorable market conditions. Winklevoss’ crypto business Gemini Trust reportedly cut 10% of its employees amid the ongoing bear crypto market, the founders wrote in a notice to employees on June 2, as Bloomberg reported. As part of its first major headcount cut, Gemini will refocus on products that are “critical” to the firm’s mission, the brothers said, adding that “turbulent market conditions” are “likely to persist for some time.” The notice reportedly …