The booming crytocurrency firms say they're scuffling to find the right people to fill hundreds of positions as a mania of interest in crytocurrencies puts them in competition against some of the leading financial institutions in the world.
Despite a fall in the crytocurrency market in May, the total market value is up 400% over the past year to about $1.4 trillion. Major firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. are starting to offer services and trading.
That's causing cryto firms to be left with fewer candidates for the hundreds of vacant jobs that is required to expand their business.
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, is advertising for some 370 positions globally. Gemini, Founded in New York, plans to raise its Singapore headcount to 50 from 30. Hong Kong based Crypto.com, currently lists more than 200 openings.
" We are hiring aggressively", Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said. "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 can produce results."
Despite the boom , finding candidates with relevant experience can be difficult, and some companies are lowering their expectations or changing their job criteria. It isn't easy to come by someone with strong cryto knowledge. Experience plays a major challenge. So firms look for candidates with expertise in banking and fintech because such skills can be transferred to a new position.
Citigroup Inc. became the latest Wall Street giant to say that it will help its richest clients bet on cryto as part of a new digital assets group. The move challenged rivals like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which both similarly invested in blockchain companies recently.
Bobby Ong, the co-founder and CEO of crypto data firm CoinGecko.com, said on Twitter that it's getting really tiugh to find the right people in Malaysia. The firm made internal adjustments and is now offering some roles that can be fully remote anywhere around the globe.
"We are competing with companies like investment banks or major technology companies, so we have to pay on par or a premium," he said. "This is going to make the market even hotter."
