The Rundown
While media headlines tout the number of millionaires Bitcoin has created, the rise of the virtual currency also has another important effect: increasing the number of cryptocurrency jobs.
An old saying goes that a rising tide lifts all boats. This can be seen in many industries, such as oil. When the price of oil goes up, people flock to gain employment in the industry. Businesses that provide services and goods to oil production see their bottom line expand as the amount of business they do shoots way up. We’re now seeing this with Bitcoin. As Bitcoin has surged in value over 2017, the number of cryptocurrency jobs has boomed as well.
The Jobs Market is Way Up
It seems that businesses and people have had Bitcoin on the brain for the last few months. There’s good reason for this as the virtual currency has shot up remarkably in value. Not only is the price surge getting people into investing in crypto, major corporations, such as TD Ameritrade, are looking to get involved as well to grab a slice of that digital pie.
Even though Bitcoin has dropped a bit from its all-time high (and has subsequently rebounded to a degree), the virtual currency has had a major impact in many lives. While some people may have gotten rich by getting in early, a lot of people are now getting jobs in the cryptocurrency field due to increased interest in Bitcoin and its digital brethren.
Help Wanted: Cryptocurrency Experience a Plus
Over the course of January through November of 2017, the number of job postings on LinkedIn with Bitcoin in the headline has boomed by 5,753% to a total of 4,917 listings. Overall, the number of jobs associated with Bitcoin and blockchain rose 306% on LinkedIn during the 12 month period that ended in mid-November.
Of this increase in cryptocurrency jobs, a representative for Coinbase says:
The rise in the value of Bitcoin and other digital currencies over the past 12 months has opened the market up to many retail and institutional investors who were previously sitting on the sidelines.
As the size of the market has grown, Coinbase has added the right people to ensure our platform and customers are properly supported, and we have approximately doubled our headcount in the last year.
It’s a given that people will be getting jobs in the cryptocurrency field when Bitcoin climbs from just about $1000 at the beginning of the year to almost $20,000. As banks, investment firms, and other businesses look to expand into the crypto world, they’re going to have to hire people who are knowledgeable about it. Not to mention the explosion of startups as different companies look to achieve a fat ICO by being the Next Big Thing.
The launch of Bitcoin futures trading was met with extreme enthusiasm (and spending), causing the CBOE website to crash. Such success for futures trading means more jobs for those experienced with crypto. Major exchanges are hiring more people in order to keep up with demand. Coinbase increased their customer support from 24 people at the start of 2017 to just around 180. The exchange plans on upping that number to 400 by the first quarter of 2018.
Prospects Look Good
Overall, the increasing market cap and value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is leading to a jobs boom for the field. Some naysayers may point out the volatility of the virtual currencies as a deterrent, but ZipRecruiter Cathy Barrera notes:
In an industry as new as cryptocurrency. I would expect fluctuations in the pace of job opening growth and of growth in job applicant pool.
Just think when automobiles first appeared on the scene. An entirely new industry sprang up as hundreds of individuals started their own car companies. While most of them failed over the long haul, the number of jobs in the auto industry rose sharply due to the successful companies expanding, along with the many businesses that rose to support the auto manufacturers, along with the industry as a whole. Cryptocurrency is a new economic sector that will continue to fuel the creation of more jobs.
What do you think about the current boom in cryptocurrency jobs? How big can the entire field become? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Pixabay and Bitcoinist archives.
