Almost half of all people working in the blockchain industry are employed by cryptocurrency exchanges, new research from industry-focused publication The Block reveals. The Block published the research results on Oct. 23, stating that 42% of people at 158 analyzed companies work for digital currency exchanges, with around 7,700 people combined working at 30 different exchanges. Crypto exchanges are followed by crypto mining equipment producers, comprising 11% of blockchain industry employees. 10% of the surveyed employees work for various cryptocurrency governing foundations, with Ripple, TRON, Block.one and IOHK being the largest employers in that sector. Out of the analyzed 158 …

American e-commerce giant Overstock.com has appointed Jonathan Johnson as the company’s new chief executive officer, according to an announcement on Sept. 23. Johnson has served as an interim CEO of Overstock since the end of August when Patrick Byrne stepped down. Presently, Johnson also acts as the company’s member of the board of directors, president at Overstock’s venture capital arm Medici Ventures, and chairman of the board at its blockchain-focused subsidiary tZERO Group. Johnson stated: “Overstock has two unique businesses. [...] I have run both, and I know how to unlock the value in each. I’m confident we can rapidly …

Huobi Group founder Leon Li has been appointed CEO, chairman of the board and executive director of the board of Pantronics Holdings Ltd. Changes at Pantronics A press release shared with Cointelegraph on Sept. 10 announced Li’s new roles at Hong Kong -listed holding company Pantronics Holdings Ltd. The 37-year-old Leon Li, who founded the global digital asset giant Huobi Group in 2013, will help the Hong Kong-based investment company “explore potential new opportunities.” Chris Lee, Pantronics’ current executive director added that Li’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the Pantronics team. He said: “The global scale of innovative …

Digital asset trust and security company BitGo has appointed wallet provider Xapo’s former senior vice-president Pete Najarian as its new chief revenue officer (CRO). As finance-focused media outlet Finance Magnates reported on Aug. 19, Najarian will now serve as BitGo’s CRO, reporting to the company’s chief executive officer Mike Belshe. Commenting on the appointment, Belshe said: “Pete has a deep understanding of capital markets and an exceptional breadth of experience in financial services. This makes him a perfect partner for institutional investors who are entering the cryptocurrency market. We’re building the financial infrastructure of the future and Pete’s experience in …

Along with Bitcoin (BTC) price growth in 2019 (from $3,400 in February to $12,689 in June), some segments of the labor market related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain have also actively manifested themselves. Demand for lawyers has risen sharply, Facebook is actively hiring and the United States is breaking every record in terms of the number of job offerings. However, the overall picture is rather ambiguous. Blockchain experts are still in demand, especially in the U.S. According to a first quarter 2018 report, published by the world's largest freelance network, Upwork, knowledge of blockchain technology came out on top among the …

Mike Novogratz's crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital hired a former exec at crypto trading giant Cumberland as head of global sales. According to an internal notice to Galaxy Digital’s counterparties, Wall Street veteran David Gross joined the company, crypto media outlet The Block reports Aug. 6. In his new position, Gross will be working on boosting sales in three units of Galaxy’s business, and will be reporting to president Chris Ferraro, per the report. 15 years at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers Before joining Galaxy Digital, David Gross served as global head of relationship management at Cumberland, the Chicago-based cryptocurrency …

Tim Wagner, the vice president of engineering at major cryptocurrency platform Coinbase, is reportedly leaving the company. Wagner will purportedly leave Coinbase within the next two weeks, according to a report by CoinDesk on July 30. An unnamed spokesperson for the company is said to have confirmed Wagner’s departure with the news outlet. At press time, Tim Wagner is currently still listed as VP Engineering at Coinbase on his LinkedIn profile. Previous roles at Microsoft and Amazon As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Coinbase initially hired Wagner last August. Wagner previously worked for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft before joining …

The chief of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement's Cyber Unit, Robert A. Cohen, has stepped down from his role at the commission. According to an official announcement by the SEC, Cohen served as the first chief of the Cyber Unit since its inception in 2017. The Cyber Unit is in charge of securities violations pertaining to cryptocurrency and digital assets, in addition to cyber-related trading violations and cybersecurity disclosures and procedures. During his time leading the unit, Cohen supervised a number of investigations, including a lawsuit against the startup Kik for running an unregistered …

Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has hired a former official from the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Department of Justice as Chief Technical Counsel, according to a press release published on June 26 Chainalysis has appointed Michael Mosier as its new Chief Technical Counsel. Mosier will now be responsible for legal expertise of Chainalysis products such as data privacy and global anti-money laundering, sanctions, policy, and government issues. At Chainalysis, Mosier will work closely with Jesse Spiro, Global Head of Policy, who joined the firm from financial information services firm Refinitiv and Kristofer Doucette, Vice President of Government …

Only a “very, very tiny percentage” of this month’s 1,700 job losses at IBM affected its blockchain division, The Block reported on June 20. Jerry Cuomo, the vice president of IBM Blockchain Technology, told the website that the tech giant is prioritizing blockchain skills when making hiring and firing decisions — adding it was “full steam ahead” for his department. The layoffs have been described as a “realignment plan.” The consulting arm of IBM’s blockchain business experienced some losses of redundant positions, but its engineering side reportedly escaped unscathed. A source told The Block: “The product team had no layoffs, …

Malaysia has launched a work visa program targeting tech freelancers that addresses a demand for blockchain capable talens, local news outlet the Star reported on June 18. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) — a government-owned organization that oversees the tech sector — blockchain organization Nem Foundation and job marketplace Jobbatical have jointly launched the program. The program aims to attract foreign professionals who will have the right to stay in the country for up to 12 months to provide blockchain-related services or undergo training at a Malaysian company. MDEC growth ecosystem development vice-president Norhizam Abdul Kadir said, "We will …

Major cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain platform Binance has hired a former strategic executive at Dell and the National Basketball Association as Binance’s global strategy officer, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 5. Binance’s new official Strategy Officer, Gin Chao, will reportedly advance the organization’s global strategy, heading initiatives in corporate development, venture investment and its legal departments; Chao’s responsibilities also include finding ways to bridge departments via new hires. Chao is also reportedly expected to discover business opportunities for Binance partners, as well as to create and manage strategies for areas and projects within the company, …