Gathering together the most recent data on the cryptocurrency and blockchain job market, a new report suggests that higher levels of institutional adoption have spurred greater demand for expertise in the sector.
According to the employment website Indeed — cited Thursday in Korea IT Times — as of mid-July 2021, the overall share of crypto and blockchain job postings on the platform has grown 118% compared with early September 2020.
This solid growth has also come with a shift in the roles being sought after, with the share of management posts in crypto and blockchain increasing 29.87% year-on-year as of July 16. Human resource accounts have risen 200% over the same time frame, whereas software development jobs have dropped down to 29.7% of all crypto and blockchain posts compared with 34.8% the previous year. All data on the allocation of roles has reportedly been drawn from the crypto trading simulator Crypto Parrot.
As the Korea IT Times observes, blockchain-related roles tend toward a higher salary range than other technology posts as they demand a strong knowledge of cryptography combined with expertise in ledger economics and object-oriented programming, among other areas. While crypto and blockchain — even DeFi— have gained traction in educational institutions steadily, the report alleges that many developers in the sector remain largely autodidact, suggesting that universities and programs are lagging.
The report further claims that reliance upon remote workers during the pandemic may prove to be a good fit for an industry that prizes decentralization, encouraging core developers and researchers to engage with multiple partners and employers on different projects.
Related: Major job postings from the crypto space in 2021
While the report does not provide data on the share of public and private sector employers seeking crypto talent, this year has seen everyone from Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to the Bank of England advertise related roles.
In the private sector, the crypto arm of asset management firm Fidelity Investments has reportedly been planning to grow its workforce by 70%, JP Morgan began accepting applications for blockchain-focused software developers, and Amazon has been seeking someone to lead its digital currency and blockchain strategy and product roadmap amid unconfirmed claims that the mega-retailer will accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments by 2022.
