Thriving Crypto Industry Leave Businesses Struggling with Shortage in Skills for Job Openings

Cryptocurrency businesses are competing to attract top talents who will fit into job positions that align with the companies’ expansion agenda, as the industry continues to experience exponential growth. 

Crypto Companies Face Stiff Competition for Qualified Candidates

According to Bloomberg on Thursday (June 24, 2021), crypto firms are finding it difficult to find the right talents to work in their companies. With the cryptocurrency industry seeing increased interest from other businesses and major financial institutions, getting the required skill has been a herculean task for cryptocurrency companies. 

Major crypto exchanges like Binance and Gemini are trying to hire qualified workers. Binance’s LinkedIn recruitment portal shows that the exchange platform is looking to fill 370 positions worldwide. Gemini, on the other hand, is working towards increasing its Singaporean workforce from 30 to 50 before the end of 2021. Another cryptocurrency company, Crypto.com, has over 200 job openings with most of them based in Asia. 

Meanwhile, financial institutional giants like Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), CitiGroup, and Goldman Sachs, are also carving our departments focused on cryptocurrency, thereby creating a stronger competition for hiring necessary candidates. 

According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the company is aware of the boom in the crypto industry, which means that Binance would need to expand its workforce. Zhao said:

“We are hiring aggressively. We see the industry growing exponentially on a year-to-year basis, and we need to scale our team to cope with it. We are a geo-equal-opportunity employer. We don’t mind where people are, as long as they produce results.”

Remote Working Conditions for Overseas Skilled Talents

Job hunting is not limited to cryptocurrency firms and traditional financial institutions, as technology companies are also looking to hire individuals with crypto talents. Back in May, multinational tech giant Apple put out a job posting that sought a business development manager for alternative payments such as crypto. The job posting required the candidate to have at least five years of experience in the field. 

Neil Dundon, the founder of Crypto Recruit, a recruitment agency, noted that companies are experiencing difficulty finding skills that match required roles. Dundon also said that despite the increased interest in crypto jobs, firms are still struggling with getting the right candidates, causing businesses to even reduce the requirement. The Crypto Recruit founder said:

“In terms of length of experience, one or two years is good enough these days. The skills shortage is so bad at the moment that companies are casting a wider net.”

Meanwhile, there has been an inclusion of blockchain and cryptocurrency courses in universities, which could help produce more talents in the thriving crypto industry. Back in January, the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center co-founded the DLT Education Consortium (DEC) based in Switzerland to improve the standard of digital ledger technology (DLT). 

While getting the necessary skill can be tough, crypto companies are adjusting their hiring policies to enable certain roles with skills talents based abroad to work in remote conditions. Also, with tech companies and major financial institutions joining the crypto industry, cryptocurrency businesses are faced with the option to offer more incentives and remuneration to attract necessary talents.