Kraken and Binance accelerate hiring drive amid crypto industry’s job cuts

Crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken, reportedly along with layer-2 sidechain Polygon, are looking to add staff amid crashing crypto markets. While Coinbase, BlockFi, and Crypto.com are among the crypto-related companies announcing layoffs this week.

The US-based crypto exchange Kraken revealed on June 15 that it has not altered its recruiting strategy and does not expect to make any layoffs.

By the end of the year, Kraken needs to fill more than 500 positions, and they feel that bear markets are an excellent way to sift out candidates who are just interested in the hype.

“We have not adjusted our hiring plan, and we do not intend to make any layoffs. We have over 500 roles to fill during the remainder of the year and believe bear markets are fantastic at weeding out the applicants chasing hype from the true believers in our mission,” Kraken said in support of the decision to expand its staff.

Even more explicit were the values that guided their employment practices. Namely, Belief in their mission, keeping up with crypto, acting more like a pirate than a pro, the pursuit of sound money, as well as life and liberty, and lastly, differences in opinion.

Because of this, Kraken has also made it simpler for those who are readying to leave the company to do so by expanding its long-term benefits program to include more options.

Meanwhile, a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk that it has over 2,000 open positions, with its job board showing roles across Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

“We will continue to grow our team as planned and see this moment in time as an opportunity to gain access to some of the industry’s best talent,” CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a comment, adding:

“Our business strategy was to position Binance for sustained growth over the next decade through multiple market downturns or even a prolonged multi-year declining market. We believe that cooler markets offer the best opportunity for organizations to invest in or acquire great projects at a more favorable price point. We are going to have a very active pipeline in the months ahead.”

Zhao also posted a cheeky tweet, suggesting his company is in a strong position today because it passed on recently spending large sums for sugar-high engagement.

Moreover, a Polygon source told CoinDesk it has “hired at least 50 senior folks all across.” The company also publicly announced a notable hire, recruiting former Meta and Microsoft marketer Jennifer Kattula as its senior vice president of marketing.

Many in the cryptocurrency industry are watching with bated breath what Kraken and Binance will do now while other businesses have announced staff reductions.

On Monday, Crypto.com announced job cuts amounting to nearly 5% of its workforce, and BlockFi said it plans to lay off about 20% of its staff. Then on Tuesday, far larger Coinbase announced reductions of 1,100 employees, or 18% of its global headcount.