In 2024, there will be a modest recruitment of crypto talent due to a reduction in demand

In 2024, there will be a modest recruitment of crypto talent due to a reduction in demand

In 2024, there will be a modest recruitment of crypto talent due to a reduction in demand

Because of the unpredictability of legislation affecting the crypto markets and the scarcity of seasoned professionals in the industry, there is now only about one-third of the active demand for crypto talent in the market as there was a year ago.

In an effort to promote the use of blockchain technology in decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the majority of businesses are placing significant bets on the Web3 employment market.

From last year, the cryptocurrency industry in India has been dealing with a changing legal environment that might lead to blockbusters in 2021 and beyond. This has directly affected the previous talent hunts that were held, resulting in a significant drop in demand.

India is home to a large number of blockchain and cryptocurrency start-ups. In addition to coming up with creative ideas, these start-ups were raising the need for qualified experts.

But throughout the last two years, there has been a cycle of increase and drop in the market for cryptocurrencies. Based on information gathered by specialized employment firm Xpheno on behalf of Moneycontrol, the market's active demand for crypto expertise is now about one-third of what it was a year ago.

As of 2020, the market has little more than 4,000 open positions, indicating that the demand cycle is in its bottom phase. There were 13,000 open positions in India as of the beginning of 2023 in the web3, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and crypto-related areas.

A same pattern was seen on the employment platform FoundIt, where demand decreased by 43% in December 2023 as compared to the same month in 2022.

The IT services cluster accounts for over half of the current need for crypto skills. The remaining demand is distributed across developing technologies, IT goods, consumer and retail areas, and cryptocurrency start-ups. Active demand is also fueled by the BFSI, professional services, manufacturing, and production sectors.

hardly any appointments

The comparatively small pool of seasoned crypto specialists in India is one of the main obstacles. Since the business is still in its infancy, it might be challenging to locate people with notable backgrounds in blockchain technology, cryptocurrency development, and related fields.

Moreover, there is a great deal of ambiguity in India's cryptocurrency regulatory environment. Experienced professionals may be discouraged from joining the market by this uncertainty or may be motivated to look for opportunities in more stable and regulated environments. Hiring procedures may also be slowed down by unclear standards as businesses address compliance issues.

The crypto realm has been there for about 15 years, but it has only recently gained mainstream recognition and interest from talent agencies. Therefore, any exceptional talent in crypto will have traveled much less than eight years. Furthermore, because of the particular technological stack, the talent pool began at a very low base and has grown in popularity over the last five years, according to Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, who spoke with Moneycontrol.

Moneycontrol was informed by top executives at WazirX, Mudrex, Unocoin, Crypphy, Cashaa, and Shardem that they are employing, however the majority of them did not provide an employment count or schedule. Those who did focused only on double-digit figures.

"Only replacement roles—and only in technical teams—are we recruiting for. Rajagopal Menon, vice president of WazirX, said, "HR is planning how scaling will happen as the crypto bull market approaches."

According to him, exchanges in India have been severely impacted by tax deducted at source (TDS), with transaction volumes falling by over 90%. All cryptocurrency businesses are under pressure as a result of this; industry-wide reorganization is occurring and several smaller, specialized businesses are being forced to fold. The majority of those impacted have returned to conventional fields of work, he added.

in challenging positions

It was discovered that the overall demand for talent in the cryptocurrency business has surged by 53% since December 2021, despite a 41% decrease in job ads connected to cryptocurrencies over the previous year.

The CEO of FoundIt, Shekhar Garissa, explains that this is because there will always be a need for qualified workers in these specialized professions due to the inherent potential of blockchain technology and its wide range of uses beyond cryptocurrencies.

"The core technology of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, has potential applications outside of the financial markets, creating a need for development, security, and architectural specialists in a range of fields, including e-governance, supply chain, and healthcare," he said.

However, considering the specialized nature of the skill set and talent scarcity, remuneration hasn't moved much over the previous year and seems to be on a very constant path.

What lies ahead

Crypto companies are feeling optimistic as they make preparations for 2024. In an effort to promote the use of blockchain technology in decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the majority of businesses are placing significant bets on the Web3 employment market.

According to Satvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, "AI plays a vital role in this growth by automating processes, enhancing security measures, and analyzing large datasets, contributing to efficiency and innovation within the industry."

Recognizing the need for a trained labor force in the cryptocurrency industry More and more online learning environments and academic institutions are offering training courses and curriculum centered on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Furthermore, specialists in India may collaborate on international initiatives without being limited by geography because to the decentralized structure of the cryptocurrency sector. Indian talent now has more opportunity to engage with global teams and contribute to cutting-edge advances in the cryptocurrency industry because to the emergence of remote work.

However, changes in the market have an impact on them.

"Although prices have rebounded after the demise of FTX and Terra, the market as a whole and the amount of institutional and individual investors have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. The approval of the Bitcoin ETF and rumors around the Bitcoin halving in April 2024, according to Cashaa CEO and creator Kumar Gaurav, are the main causes of the current surge.