Bull Run Fuels Frenetic Activity As Exchanges Embark On A Hiring Spree, But Skeptics Remain Wary

After a series of harrowing layoffs in 2023, job listings in the cryptoverse are gathering significant steam buoyed by soaring virtual currency prices.

According to the latest data, crypto-related job listings have spiked by over 30% in the first three months of the year to rub shoulders with artificial intelligence (AI) roles. Raman Shalupau, founder of CryptoJobsLists, disclosed that the new hiring activity in the ecosystem is a reaction to the recent crypto bull market.

Since the start of the year, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization has risen to over $2.5 trillion, with Bitcoin (BTC) and other assets reaching new all-time highs.

Apart from retail and institutional investors wading into the space, Shalupau notes that enterprises are jostling for talent to ride the wave of soaring prices. However, the Web 3 entrepreneur points out that a significant portion of the hiring traffic stems from old industry players.

“I’m not seeing a specific trend of new companies entering the market just yet,” remarked Shalupau. 

Among the old guard, exchanges are leading the drive for hiring new talent to expand the scope of their offerings. A close look at the listings reveals that customer service jobs are making a comeback despite the threat of AI chatbots while engineering and marketing roles come in second and third place.

At the moment, Binance has over 350 roles open with Seychelles-based Kucoin seeking to hire 300 employees across several units. Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini appear keen on increasing their staff strength after massive job cuts in 2023 by announcing nearly 200 vacancies. 

Industry experts have uncovered a spike in average salaries, surpassing figures from 2022 and 2023. While proponents are attributing the rise in remuneration to the bull market, others are pointing to rising levels of inflation to justify the trend.

The US currently leads the pack for Web 3 jobs, closely followed by Hong Kong and India in second and third place, respectively.

Keeping an eye on the bears

Shalupau warned job seekers to keep an eye out on the oscillations of the market, noting that a bear market could spell doom for the industry. Following the extended crypto winter in 2022 through 2023, virtual currency service providers laid off over 10,000 employees to remain afloat – a recurrent theme in the ecosystem.

“Be aware that the bull market is not here forever,” remarked Shalupau. 

After urging applicants to strike while the iron is hot, Shalupau added that job seekers should perform due diligence before appending their signatures to an employment contract. Other industry experts advise candidates to narrow their searches to roles that resonate with them, rather than “applying to 10,000 different jobs per day.”