Although several layoffs throughout the tech industry, crypto-specialist recruiters indicate they haven’t seen a drop in crypto-related job possibilities.
Regardless of increased incidents of employee layoffs and recruitment bans at major internet businesses, the digital employment market shows no signs of stopping down.
Several prominent software businesses have had direct result cuts in recent weeks, citing a sluggish traditional market and decreasing demand for products that skyrocketed during the pandemic. Twitter, Uber, Amazon, and Robinhood have all recently revealed layoffs.
On Tuesday, Netflix fired off 150 employees, the majority of whom were located in the United States, claiming a decrease in revenue growth. After failing to fulfill marketing goals earlier this month, Facebook parent company Meta imposed a hiring block for most of its mid and senior-level employees.
The cryptocurrency market has not been entirely untouched. Following a $430 million loss in the first quarter, Coinbase spoke on Tuesday that it was shutting down staffing. In an official statement, Coinbase CEO Emelie Choi stated, “ plans to triple the company’s workforce by 2022 had been put on hold due to market conditions that force companies to “delay hiring and analyze headcount needs; versus our highest-priority business goals.”
So, are we at the onset of a significant staffing slowdown in the crypto industry? Crypto recruiters spoke to don’t think so.
“The hiring of crypto experts has not decreased.” “We’re as active as ever,” said Crypto Recruit founder Neil Dundon.
Dundon’s firm specializes in blockchain and cryptocurrency recruiting.
“We have a team based globally across the US, Asia/Pac and European regions and demand is equally as high across the region.”
According to Kevin Gibson, owner of Proof of Search, layoffs in the software industry has had little to no influence on his crypto business clients thus far.
“I’ve only known two companies cutting off employees,” Gibson added. “This could alter in the next month, but any holes will be quickly covered by well-funded, elevated projects.” You will not notice any change as an applicant. If you lose your job, you’ll have other offers quite rapidly.”
VC Funding Runways
Most crypto initiatives, as per Gibson, are still in the startup and initial phases of their lifespans and depend on venture capital (VC) funds collected last year:
“The vast majority of quality projects were funded last year, so they will continue to build and hire. There was such an imbalance of talent to role that any pull back from pre-funded projects will not be noticed.”
According to CB Insights’ “State of Blockchain Q1 22” study, blockchain and crypto start-ups had a record-breaking funding quarter, with venture capital achieving an all-time high of $9.2 billion in the three months, exceeding the previous quarter’s $8.8 billion in Q4 2021. The eighth quarter in a row has seen record blockchain funding.
More traditional tech organizations and employees are moving into the crypto sector, according to Dundon, significantly improving the crypto job market:
“At a minimum, most forward thinking tech companies are allocating some budget to look at how they might incorporate blockchain into their existing models. Not only are more companies venturing into this space but candidates are flocking over as traditional tech downsizes.”
As shown in a to a LinkedIn research published in January this year, crypto-related job listings in the United States increased 395 percent from 2020 to 2021, compared to only a 98 percent gain in the technology sector during the same time. Blockchain developers and engineers were the top job titles.
According to Glassdoor, the average annual income for a blockchain engineer is $109,766. At $105,180, the average yearly pay for a blockchain developer is slightly lower.
When queried if the current crypto bear market will result in more crypto unemployment, Dundon replied that he does not see a situation similar to that which happened in 2018.
“In the past, when the Bitcoin price fell, crypto employment slowed considerably.” It was nearly immediately proportional to its price,” Dundon explained:
“This time, it’s different, though, as crypto companies now manage their treasuries in a much more responsible manner. This all translates to a much more stable hiring market.”