Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology, debuted theoretically in 2008 and came to life a year later. Since then, the demand for ‘crypto’ professionals has been growing year by year. This has been fueled by the fact that cryptocurrencies have experienced significant growth, entered the mainstream, as well as the data that more and more companies are engaging in crypto and blockchain technology which is finding increasing applications across various industries. It is also worth noting that, for example, in 2013, only 33 cryptocurrencies were available, while in 2021, according to Statista, that number exceeds 6 thousand. Of course, most of those 6000 are not very significant, as evidenced by the fact that the 20 largest or most popular cryptocurrencies make up about 90 percent of the total crypto market.
The significant growth of the crypto industry has led many to want to develop their business careers precisely in this new industry, and according to research from the American job site Indeed, jobs related to the crypto and blockchain industry have increased significantly by 118 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.
Maturity of the Industry
Furthermore, the research reveals how the industry is maturing as job ads now extend beyond the initial ads related to the industry that focused on mining or trading. Today, jobs in crypto also include positions related to finance, marketing, human resources, accounting and similar fields. Additionally, from Indeed’s research, it can be inferred that many, more precisely the majority of crypto jobs, are remote jobs, which means ‘jobs from a distance’, which certainly suits many in today’s time.
The research also states that although regulators are tightening their oversight of cryptocurrencies and related jobs, employment in the industry is reaching its peak.
However, the craze for crypto jobs has not only exploded on this job search site but also on others, as well as on LinkedIn.
On LinkedIn, paid job ads in the U.S. with keywords like ‘cryptocurrency’ and ‘blockchain’ have increased by more than 600 percent compared to the previous year, while the popular site CryptocurrencyJobs.co recorded a growth of paid crypto ads by 1500 compared to last year.
– Everyone is currently looking for different employee profiles in the crypto industry, and this is the largest search for such talent since 2017, said Daniel Adler, founder of CryptocurrencyJobs.co.
The largest companies that have been hiring in recent months are Kraken and Coinbase, as well as more traditional companies such as Accenture, KPMG, PayPal Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decentralized finance projects that allow users to trade without using centralized intermediaries have spurred increasing employment, Adler believes.
– The most crypto jobs are offered within the Ethereum ecosystem where many DeFi projects reside. Also, crypto systems like Solana contribute to the high demand for jobs. The appeal of these jobs is that many companies not only offer high salaries and bonuses but also share various tokens, which are essentially like company shares, Adler adds.
Transformed Market
The crypto and blockchain industry has transformed in just a few years from little-known technologies into a growing industry whose share of job ads has sharply increased. Meanwhile, the industry has increased employment in support functions such as human resources and marketing. In the end, the only unknown is what will happen to the crypto and blockchain labor markets if cryptocurrency prices drastically fall. This unregulated digital asset is notoriously volatile. Only time will tell whether the crypto and blockchain industry will be strong enough to withstand all the booms and busts that are inevitably ahead of us.
