(Bloomberg) — Booming cryptocurrency firms say they’re struggling to find the right candidates to fill hundreds of positions as a frenzy of interest in digital currencies and other assets pits them against some of the world’s biggest financial institutions.
Despite a rout in May, cryptocurrencies’ total market value is up 400% over the past year to about $1.4 trillion, and traditional financial firms such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. are starting to offer services and trading. Meanwhile, the likes of CME Group Inc. are expanding crypto derivatives offerings — all of which is helping the asset class to mature.
That’s leaving fewer candidates for crypto firms who need dozens or hundreds of new workers to expand their business.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is advertising for some 370 positions globally, according to its LinkedIn recruitment portal. New York-based Gemini plans to boost its Singapore headcount to 50 from 30 by December. Hong Kong-based Crypto.com, currently lists more than 200 openings, with over half of them based in Asia.
“We are hiring aggressively,” Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said by email. “We see the industry growing exponentially on a year-to-year basis, and we need to scale our team to cope with it.” He added, “We are a geo-equal-opportunity employer. We don’t mind where people are, as long as they produce results.”
Hundreds of Applicants
For potential candidates, interest in crypto jobs has risen by about five to 10 times in the past nine months, according to Neil Dundon, the founder of recruitment agency Crypto Recruit. A single job posting can attract hundreds of applicants, he said.
Despite the boom, finding candidates with relevant experience can be difficult, meaning that some companies are lowering their expectations or changing job criteria.
“In terms of length of experience, one or two years is good enough these days,” said Dundon. “The skills shortage is so bad at the moment that companies are casting a wider net.”
Both Gemini’s Asia-Pacific head Jeremy Ng and Crypto.com’s director of talent acquisition, Tom Lau, agree that experience is a major challenge.
Bitcoin and Ether have risen substantially in the past couple of years.
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