Crypto Markets: From Hero to Villain

2022 will be earmarked as a year to remember for those working within the digital asset space. We’ve seen heroes become villains (here’s looking at you SBF & Do Kwon), the rise and subsequent fall of a certain algorithmic stablecoin, the collapse of a hedge fund, and the demise of many centralised crypto lenders who had a thing or two to learn about risk management.

The failures of 2022 have left many people calling for increased regulation within the sector – and rightly so. However, despite confidence in the space being at a low, it is important to remember that none of these failures were a failure of crypto. DeFi has functioned near perfectly throughout the year, building goes on, investment money continues to be raised and more and more people are HODLing crypto than ever before. So despite what the mainstream media may preach, crypto definitely isn’t dead.

Looking forward into 2023, market participants should keep in mind that several factors may continue to impact the crypto market. These include the overall economic climate, regulatory uncertainty, and a lack of trust in cryptocurrency. However, it’s important to note that despite these challenges, the development and adoption of digital assets continues at an unprecedented rate as more and more people look to propel themselves headfirst into this rapidly evolving industry.

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The State Of The Job Market: Crypto

Blockchain technology – in its numerous forms – has benefited from an influx of investment over the past few years, whether this be within DeFi, NFTs, tokenization, CBDCs, lending protocols, custody solutions… The list goes on!

According to PWC, “total fundraising count and deal value have experienced significant growth in H1 2022 compared to H1 2021. While average fundraising deal values have fallen, there has been a significant increase in seed rounds”

Source PWC

This suggests that despite uncertain market conditions, investors are still looking for opportunities within the crypto sector – even if they are being more cautious amidst market conditions.

More fundraising tends to correlate with more growth – and with growth comes the demand for talent. In 2022, developer activity remained stalwart, despite the market downturn.

The number of people working within top blockchain companies has also increased by 219%, from 14,840 to 32,500 in 2022.

The collapse of Terra Luna saw hiring slow down in the latter half of the year, with numerous crypto firms making high profile redundancies across the board.

Many feared that the collapse of FTX would bring about a similar fate, however, this doesn’t seem to be the case – yet. CryptoJobList recently asked companies with exposure to FTX and Solana three questions, and the answers may surprise you…

• Has the current situation forced the company to lay off employees?
• Has any offer been rescinded?
• If you guys were hiring before the event, have you stopped hiring?

Answers:

• 93% said it didn’t affect their hiring. Many companies mentioned that they were not hiring previous to the scandal;
• 100% confirmed that they did not rescind offers;
• 89% said they didn’t fire anyone.

Although it is impossible to assess the health of the crypto job market, the lack of redundancies being made in wake of FTX’s bankruptcy makes the situation look better than you might imagine.

Going into 2023, we actually expect to see many leading crypto companies strengthen their rosters as both the macroeconomic and crypto environment slowly improves. In fact, many believe that top talent from traditional finance and distraught crypto firms will find new homes at crypto unicorns in 2023.

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A Look Back On DeFi Rec’s 22’

What we have achieved:

Connected with some amazing talent and firms within the crypto space at numerous high profile conferences, industry meet-ups and networking events.

• CCDAS
• Consensus
• Token2049
• DAS

DeFi Recruitment became a member of CryptoUK – a trade association for the UK crypto asset industry, established to promote higher standards of conduct. We regularly join regulators, policymakers and other CryptoUK members at industry events, looking to promote digital assets through the pursuit of supportive policies and regulation.

Events aside, we worked with some great companies – from both traditional finance and crypto – across Europe and the US, helping to place candidates in a wide variety of roles ranging from junior to C-suite and executive positions.

In under six months, we made 25+ permanent placements at Director, VP, and Executive level with 0 rebates

In one particular case, we worked closely with an early stage crypto asset manager which was looking to scale up its product strategy and fundraising teams. DeFi Rec successfully helped build out their fundraising, strategy, and operations team.

And finally, we have undergone a complete rebrand and website build.

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Looking Forward to 23’

2022 was great, but we plan on making 2023 our best year yet.

In 2023, we plan to make strategic hires to grow the team and spread the reach of DeFi Rec even further. It may sound cliche, but we want to be the one stop shop for crypto and DeFi recruitment, and a strong and diverse team is vital if we are to achieve this goal.

You can also expect to see the DeFi Rec team at more industry events in the DeFi and blockchain space next year, from Consensus to Paris Blockchain Week and beyond. These events are a great opportunity for us to connect with other industry leaders, showcase our services, and find top talent to join our (and your) team.

We genuinely believe digital assets have the power to revolutionise the financial industry. That’s why we’re dedicated to promoting the growth of companies in the DeFi space and connecting top talent with the best positions. By fostering the adoption of digital assets, we can help shape the future of finance for the better – and this is something we intend to do into 2023 and beyond.

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Are you a company looking to grow your team in 2023? Or are you a talented professional looking to join the exciting world of crypto? If so, DeFi Recruitment wants to be your partner in success. No need to wait for New Year resolutions for a change of career, instead reach out to us today.