As crypto reels, these crypto companies are hiring
In a vote of confidence during a deep crypto bear market, brokers Binance, Kraken and FTX plan to grow their teams. It’s a bit of reassurance for investors amid the bad news.
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As the crypto market continues its deep drop, three crypto companies announced plans recently to increase their workforces and poach top talent from competitors.
That’s a vote of confidence that should encourage investors and traders since, despite all the bad news, key parts of the crypto space continue to build and expand.
Binance, Kraken and FTX still hiring
- Binance currently has 2,000 open positions across Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said, “We will continue to grow our team as planned and see this moment in time as an opportunity to gain access to some of the industry’s best talent.”
- Kraken also announced its plan to increase headcount and hire over 500 staff. The company “believes bear markets are fantastic at weeding out the applicants chasing hype from the true believers in our mission.”
- FTX announced via Tweet earlier this month it would keep hiring.
- Polygon (MATIC), a layer 2 scaling solution on the Ethereum blockchain network, recruited former Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) marketer Jennifer Kattula. Her new role is senior vice president of marketing. She was reportedly one of about 50 news hires.
FTX also gearing up for acquisitions
Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, also announced a few weeks ago that the company has $2 billion ready for acquisitions.
On Friday, FTX announced it has entered an agreement to acquire Canadian trading platform Bitvo. The deal will be completed in the third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.
Coinbase prepares for a prolonged “crypto winter”
This all comes as many crypto-connected companies cut back. Crypto.com recently announced it would cut 5% of its workforce, while BlockFi said it would lay off 20%. Gemini, another crypto exchange, announced it would lay off 10% of its employees.
Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges, called the current crypto crash a “crypto winter” a few days ago and announced it would lay off 18% of its workforce, which amounts to 1,100 employees globally.
Other crypto companies struggling
Celsius, one of the biggest crypto lending platforms, paused all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts a few days ago. This was one of the companies that offered more than a 10% return on stablecoin deposits, something that may not be feasible in the long run.
Hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) is another crypto company that has ended up in trouble. According to 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies, the company invested $200 million in LUNA tokens (now LUNC) as part of a $1 billion raised by the Luna Foundation Guard in February. Since the collapse of Terra Luna and its UST stablecoin, that investment is worthless.
News reports suggest Three Arrows is near collapse.
FINRA offers job opportunities
With the deep drops in crypto this year, such shake-ups aren’t surprising. But seeing that employees are being hired as well as dropped might reassure investors in crypto — and those working in the industry.
For those laid off, there’s at least one other possibility.
A few days ago, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced it is working “to understand and monitor cryptocurrencies,” and thus, its doors are open to former crypto industry workers.
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Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
Kliment Dukovski owns cryptocurrencies as of the publishing date.
