The crypto sector has been through a very rough phase in recent times with the price crashes, mining difficulty, and collapse of significant firms triggering mass layoffs. However, recent data reveals a tangential shift in the trend of in-demand positions in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
In an industry as rapid as crypto, changes are very frequent and the everyday advancement is what invites youth besides monetary incentives. 2021 witnessed a significant surge in demand for cryptocurrency and blockchain jobs primarily via recruitment websites like LinkedIn.
Data reveals that between September 2020 and July 2021 the growth in the field was as massive as 100% and in 2021, the largest share of it was concentrated in software development, about 30% which is a year-over-year (YoY) drop from 34% during the same period in 2020.
Following the software was the management sector with a share of 10% surged by 29.87% compared to 2020. Human Resources was found to have the highest YoY growth rate of about 200% whereas the overall share of crypto and blockchain jobs grew about 118% compared to September 2020.
Another study brings into the picture the concept of remote work – a prevalent preference in the industry wherein out of the surveyed participants, the majority had agreed to a fully remote work model for operations allowing a global workforce in crypto.
In 2022, the major share of the layoffs in the crypto industry was due to factors like inflation concerns, interest rates hike, and geopolitical issues adding to the cause. According to sources, as of mid-November, 73,000 jobs in the US tech sector faced layoffs whereas 136,989 were laid off by 849 tech companies worldwide in 2022. However, the crypto industry is responsible for only 4% of the total job losses in the tech industry as reported by Todayq.
The major layoffs this year happened primarily due to the collapse of big-shot companies in the sector like Terra LUNA in May and FTX recently. The crypto market entered into a bear phase and with low prices, the revenue for exchanges decreased considering the lower transaction rates. This scenario created major differences in firms’ balance sheets and in order to make it look good, they started with layoffs as means to cut operational costs.
This however shows an imbalance for companies in the industry who made profits during the bull phase but did not utilize it quite efficiently in product development and customer experience. The companies didn’t prioritize better reach of crypto rather preferred spending significant shares on advertisements and campaigns.
Neil Dundon, a crypto recruiter commented that in recent times a significant share of rising interest has been observed in the sectors like content, research, marketing, community, etc.