Crypto firms including Blockchain.com, Kraken and Coinbase are still recruiting hundreds of new staff despite recent mass layoffs and a collapse in the value of most digital coins.
Blockchain.com has 113 open roles and Coinbase is still making new hires. Crypto exchange Kraken also has more than 500 roles to fill during the remainder of the year, it said, after some staff left.
“We have not adjusted our hiring plan, and we do not intend to make any layoffs,” a Kraken spokesperson told Insider.
Some staff decided to accept a voluntary redundancy offer, with less than 1% of Kraken’s workforce saying they were leaving due to cultural misfit, the company said.
Coinbase said in June it was cutting 18% of its workforce and notified 1,100 employees by email. Gemini, Crypto.com and BlockFi also laid off hundreds of staff members last month.
About 340 jobs were posted in June on the website Crypto Jobs List, down from 554 roles in May.
The number of companies advertising roles on the site in June was about 30% lower than the previous month amid plunging values of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bitcoin has lost more than 70% of its value compared to its November peak of nearly $70,000. It was trading below $20,000 on Saturday, according to CoinDesk data. Ethereum was close to $1,000, down from a high of almost $5,000 late last year.
“There is less noise for both companies and candidates,” said Raman Shalupau, founder and chief executive of Crypto Jobs List. “Most companies without solid business models are being purged out of the market, and those that are still hiring are likely to stay in the industry for the long term.”
Shalupau said the collapse in Bitcoin had made many companies highly cautious about hiring.
“I suspect we are still not at the bottom of the market yet. More companies might slow down hiring in the coming three to six months,” he added.