Binance and Coinbase, two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by user base and daily trading volume, are on a hiring spree despite the 80 percent correction the crypto market experienced throughout 2018.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Binance’s Chief Financial Officer Wei Zhou stated that the company is hiring 50 new employees in its headquarters in Malta while also recruiting new hires for the firm’s first fiat-to-crypto exchange in Singapore.
The Malta-based multi-billion dollar company, which already has more than 300 people across 39 countries, is soon expected to expand its team to over 350 employees.
Sign of Rapid Growth
Over the past year, Binance has experienced exponential growth, adding millions of users and billions in daily trading volume in merely months. The company is often described as the fastest growing startup in history, outside the realm of crypto and finance.
Zhou emphasized that Binance is continuing to grow the ecosystem, with its most recent initiative being the launch of Binance Singapore and potentially more fiat-integrated cryptocurrency exchanges in the months to come.
“Our goal right now is to continue to grow the ecosystem, not just for cryptocurrency, but for the blockchain industry as well. The company is currently looking to acquire projects in the fiat space, Zhou said.
Apart from managing billions of dollars in funds, which requires a highly experienced and talented security team, Binance also puts in significant effort in integrating cryptocurrencies that fit the criteria of the exchange.
The rigorous approval process of cryptocurrencies by Binance has decreased the acceptance rate of tokens to 2 to 3 percent, which is slimmer than the chance of going to Harvard and Stanford for millennials.
“I think it’s harder to get into Binance than it is to get to Harvard and Stanford. It’s like less than 2 to 3 percent acceptance rate in terms of tokens we’re looking at,” Zhou added.
The complicated and long process of approving tokens manually requires individuals with experience in the cryptocurrency sector that are able to evaluate projects based on a wide range of criteria. The intensive work that is required in approving and implementing tokens along with the responsibility of the exchange to secure user funds demand a large workforce.
The vision of Binance to continuously evolve and improve its infrastructure has allowed the exchange to operate without any hacking attack or security breach to date, while several multi-billion dollar exchanges like Bithumb and Coincheck experienced high profile hacking attacks in recent months.
High Profile Hires
Coinbase recently brought in Michael Li, a senior executive and Head of Analytics and Data Science at LinkedIn, as the company’s new Vice President of Data.
“I am thrilled by the opportunity to define and evolve the role data can play in a rapidly emerging space, combining an innovative mindset to solve new challenges with learnings from my past experience,” Li said.
Executives and experienced traders from the finance sector are flocking to the rapidly growing cryptocurrency sector, often with a pay cut, to be a part of the new asset class and the industry surrounding it.
