Coinbase bucks the coronavirus trend with a hiring spree, spotlighting interest in stablecoins and lending

American jobless claims hit 22 million in the last four weeks as the economic shuttering spurred by the spread of COVID-19 continues to keep closed vast numbers of businesses.

The crypto industry hasn't been immune to layoffs of its own. Firms ranging from custody providers like BitGo to institutional exchanges like ErisX have laid off employees during the crisis.

Still, some companies in the ecosystem are bucking the trend and growing their ranks, as indicated by job ads viewed by The Block. Exchanges in particular – including notables like Kraken, Coinbase, and Gemini – have continued to post listings on LinkedIn over the past month. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that these firms are looking to expand. Exchanges have been making money hand-over-fist as volatility in crypto (underpinned by volatility across markets) soared to new heights in March.

As noted by my colleague Larry Cermak, trading volumes in March increased by 22.4% and reached a 9-month high. The volume on legitimate exchanges, according to The Block 22 index, was about $116.6 billion in March, which was the second-highest monthly volume since January 2019.

More volumes translate into more revenues, which gives exchanges that benefit from an increase in activity more room to expand. Robert Paone, who runs the industry head-hunting firm Proof of Talent, confirmed that crypto exchanges are operating business as usual from a recruiting standpoint. 

"Cryptocurrency exchange hiring efforts in the US have remained relatively static, despite the global economic turmoil," he said. "With the vast majority of revenue for exchanges coming via trading fees and with no clear detrimental impact from COVID-19 to volume (yet), crypto exchanges remain in a strong position financially to continue expansion."

What's in a job ad?

Job ads also hint at the priorities of those companies. Coinbase's listings, in particular, are interesting given the recent announcement of its new institutional head.

The firm recently brought on a Barclays executive to expand its client base on Wall Street. In an interview with The Block, Brett Tejpaul said the firm would take a broader approach to lure in Wall Street firms, mentioning stablecoins as one example for the firm to offering new stablecoins. 

Indeed, the firm has been looking to hire a Head of Stablecoin, according to LinkedIn.

The person would refine the company's "roadmap for USDC, in partnership with CENTRE." CENTRE is the consortium behind the USDC stablecoin, which also includes Circle and Kraken. Stablecoins have been a red-hot corner of the crypto market, with ethereum-based stablecoins hitting $6.25 billion in market capitalization, as noted by The Block Research.

Circle, the Boston-based cryptocurrency firm, has pivoted its entire business to stablecoins, offering API-related services for companies looking to accept or build on USDC. At first glance, it appears like Coinbase could be stepping on Circle's turf, but a source familiar with the firm's business said Coinbase has been looking to hire someone to evangelize USDC externally. Thus far, USDC-related responsibilities have been "part of someone's job."

The stablecoin market isn't the only corner of the crypto market that Coinbase appears to be looking to for possible expansion.

The company could move into the credit market if it finds the right candidate, following its recent introduction of margin trading for a select group of clients. The firm is currently hiring for a senior product manager to cover crypto lending. 

"The Borrow/Lend PM will build compelling trusted, and easy experiences that new and existing Coinbase users can use to monetize their assets via lending and/or borrow assets in order to finance other activities," the ad says. 

The person would be tasked with developing the roadmap for lending-related products that would sit on the firm's mobile app and website, according to the ad. 

Such products could pit Coinbase in head-to-head competition with companies like BlockFi. Coinbase would be the latest firm in the industry to launch a lending service, following Blockchain.com and BitGo.