Crypto Job Market Remains Strong Despite Tech Layoffs

Despite layoffs and hiring freezes at major tech companies, the cryptocurrency job market shows little sign of slowing down.

Several large tech companies have announced layoffs in recent weeks, citing a downturn in traditional markets and shrinking demand for products that have thrived during the pandemic. Recently announced layoffs include Twitter, Uber, Amazon and Robinhood.

Movie streaming service Netflix on Tuesday laid off 150 workers, mostly in the United States, amid slowing revenue growth. Earlier this month, Facebook parent Meta froze hiring for most mid- and senior-level roles after missing revenue targets.

The crypto industry has not been entirely spared either. On Tuesday, Coinbase announced a slowdown in hiring after the company lost $430 million in the first quarter. Coinbase Chief Operating Officer Emelie Choi told employees in an internal memo to triple headcount in 2022 as market conditions required the company to "slow down hiring and reassess our workforce needs against our highest priority business goals." plans were shelved.

So, are we at the beginning of a massive slowdown in crypto hiring? The cryptocurrency recruiters interviewed by Cointelegraph don’t think so.

“We haven’t seen a slowdown in crypto hiring. We’re as busy as ever,” said Crypto Recruit founder Neil Dundon.

Dundon's firm specializes in recruiting in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

"We have a global team spanning the US, Asia/Pacific and Europe, and demand is equally high across the region."

Proof of Search founder Kevin Gibson told Cointelegraph that layoffs in the tech industry have so far had little impact on his crypto clients.

“I’ve only heard of two companies laying off staff,” Gibson said. “That may change in the next month, but any slack will be immediately made up for by quality, well-funded projects.” As a job seeker, you won't notice any difference...if you lose your job, you'll also get lots of job offers pretty quickly. "

venture capital runway

Gibson said that most crypto projects are still in the early stages of startup and life cycle, and are still operating on the venture capital (VC) funding they received last year.

“The vast majority of quality projects were funded last year, so [they will] continue to build and hire. There is such an imbalance between talent and roles that any pull from pre-funded projects goes unnoticed arrive."

CB Insights' "State of Blockchain Q1 22" report noted that blockchain and cryptocurrency startups saw a record quarter for funding for blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, with venture capital funding hitting an all-time high in three months, with $9.2 billion raised, topping the 2021 Q1 2021 Q1 22 report. $400 million in the fourth quarter. This is the seventh consecutive quarter of record blockchain funding.

Dundon said he sees more traditional tech companies and employees getting involved in the crypto space, further enriching the crypto job market.

“At the very least, most forward-thinking tech companies are allocating some budget to […] researching how they can integrate blockchain into existing models […] Not only are more and more companies getting involved in this field, and as traditional technologies shrink in size, candidates flock to them.”

A Linkedin study released in January found that U.S. cryptocurrency-related jobs surged 395% from 2020 to 2021, compared with a 98% increase in the tech sector over the same period. The most common job requirements include blockchain developers and engineers.

According to Glassdoor, blockchain developers earn an average annual salary of $109,766. Blockchain engineers earn a slightly lower average annual salary of $105,180.

When asked if the current crypto bear market would translate into more layoffs at crypto companies, Dundon said he did not expect the same situation as in 2018.

“In the past, when the price of bitcoin plummeted, crypto hiring tended to slow down. It was almost directly related to its price,” Dundon explained.

“This time is different because crypto companies are now managing their vaults in a more responsible manner […] This all means a more stable job market.”