Crypto Employee Number Surges 160% in 4 Years

Paradoxically, the number of crypto firm employees has skyrocketed since 2019. This happens in spite of the many high-profile crypto market implosions in the last four years.

According to data by crypto research firm K33, cited by Cointelegraph, the number of crypto company staff members has increased by almost 160% since 2019.

200,000 people work in crypto now

In a report, K33 estimates that around 190,000 people work in crypto in 2023, compared to just 73,000 four years earlier. Data show that crypto industry employment peaked at more than 211,000 professionals in 2021. The growth occurred in parallel to Bitcoin’s all-time high of $68,000 in November that year.

Increase tracks BTC price gains

Around 11% fewer people work in crypto compared to 2021. The increase since 2019 seems to track Bitcoin price dynamics. The flagship crypto has gained over 300% since 2019, when it was trading for $7,200 on average.

The losers

Leading exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Crypto.com have undergone multiple rounds of layoffs in the past year. In the last few weeks, Binance laid off more than 1,000 staff members in yet another headcount cut. The exchange announced a 20% employee reduction in May.

The winners

Tether, which issues the biggest stablecoin in the world by market cap, has only around 60 staff members. Many leading crypto companies have never employed more than 100 people.

Kraken is one of the crypto companies with the biggest contribution to the present tendency. Its employees have increased by more than 150% in the last four years. Hardware wallet firm Trezor has increased its headcount by 120% since 2019. CEO Matej Zak told Cointelegraph:

We are focused on building and retaining talent for the long term. We’ve been in the industry for 10 years, so we’re well aware of how tough bear markets can be, and we plan accordingly. This means we didn’t have to cut staff during the recent bear market; instead, we continued to hire.