Despite several high-profile cryptocurrency implosions, the number of people working in the industry has skyrocketed over the past four years.
The number of cryptocurrency-related employees has surged nearly 160 percent since 2019, according to findings from cryptocurrency research startup K33.
In a report titled “The Emerging Cryptocurrency Industry,” K33 estimated As of 2023, the total number of people working in cryptocurrency is close to 190,000. It also estimates that around 73,000 people worked in cryptocurrencies in 2019.
The data shows that the total number of employees in the crypto industry will peak in 2021 with more than 211,000 professionals. This increase comes with the Bitcoin (BTC) price reaching an all-time high of $68,000 in November 2021.
Although the number of cryptocurrency employees has decreased by about 11% since 2021, this figure is still significantly higher than four years ago.This increase appears to track the dynamics of Bitcoin’s price, i.e. Its average annual price has soared more than 300% from around $7,200 in 2019, according to CoinGecko.
Data from some major industry companies mirrored K33’s findings, but others appeared to be lagging. Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is one of the companies that has increased its global workforce, with the company’s chief people officer Pranesh Anthapur telling Cointelegraph that the company’s headcount has increased by more than 150% since 2019.
“The bear market has highlighted the importance of finding the right talent to scale a business. Disrupting the foundations of traditional finance is not easy,” Anthapur noted. He added that Kraken’s approach to employee retention “is consistent across bear and bull cycles.”
Major hardware wallet company Trezor has also seen a 120% increase in headcount since 2019, CEO Matej Zak told Cointelegraph.
“More importantly, we are committed to developing and retaining talent over the long term,” Zucker noted. He added that even in a bear market, Trezor has been trying to retain and grow talent, rather than periodically hiring and firing based on “short-term market mania.” He said:
“We’ve been in the industry for 10 years, so we know how tough bear markets can be and have planned accordingly. That means we didn’t lay off staff during the most recent bear market; instead, we continued to hire.”
On the other hand, the cryptocurrency industry has also seen multiple rounds of layoffs in the past year, including companies such as Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, Dapper Labs, and Kraken.
According to online reports, Binance has laid off more than 1,000 employees in a layoff campaign over the past few weeks. The so-called layoffs come after the company announced in May that it would cut 20% of its workforce.
related: Searches for ‘artificial intelligence jobs’ will be 4x that of ‘cryptocurrency jobs’ in 2023 when BTC hits $69k
While some large companies have cut thousands of jobs, some cryptocurrency giants have apparently never hired more than 100 people. Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin and the most traded cryptocurrency USDT, has only about 60 employees, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
“We have always maintained a cautious approach to hiring. We prioritize the well-being and future prospects of our employees, as evidenced by our lack of layoffs even during the previous downturn in the crypto market,” the representative added.
Magazine: NFT Collector: Interactive NFTs are the future of sports, Vegas Sphere is exciting
Svlook
