Here’s how much 19 major crypto firms have expanded their headcounts this year

Crypto firms have been rapidly expanding their teams this year, on the back of surging prices and a wave of private mega-funding rounds. 

Since the beginning of the year, companies across the industry have expanded their headcounts by double digital percentages. The Block reached out to 19 companies in the cryptocurrency industry, ranging from exchanges and wallet providers as well as institutional service providers, to collect information about new hires this year. 

In total, there were 3,572 hires among these 19 companies, which now have a rough total of 8,600 employees between them. By the end of the year, these companies aim to raise that number to more than 10,000.

The chart below shows how these firms have increased their headcounts in the first six months of 2021.

Leading the pack are large crypto exchanges, with Binance picking up an additional 1,000 team members in the first six months of the year while Coinbase added 450 employees. Crypto lending firm BlockFi also increased its team by 500 people, a 130% surge.

Other crypto exchanges also added significantly to their human resources, with Gemini adding 200 new staff members, Bullish adding 90, and Bitstamp growing by 70.

Outside of exchanges, investment group DCG hired 301 people. Meanwhile, Stone Ridge’s NYDIG has grown by 150 people — a 294% increase in headcount — as it doubles down on its ambitious plans to get banks across the U.S. adopting bitcoin. Hardware wallet maker Ledger added 149 people as it continues to expand its product offerings beyond just storing coins (adding buying, selling and lending functionalities). 

Crypto market-making firm GSR grew from 59 to 130 employees — up 119%. Digital asset platform Anchorage and investment firm Galaxy Digital both doubled their teams, each adding 70 new staff members. 

Looking ahead, Gemini, Galaxy Digital and Blockchain have the most ambitious near-term hiring plans. Each has plans to add at least 150 more people by the end of the year. Bullish, Ledger and BlockFi all hope to hire another 100 people by then. (Some companies chose not to provide speculative hiring information, including Binance, Coinbase and DCG.)

Galaxy's projection includes its acquisition of BitGo, which is expected to close by the end of the year. BitGo nearly doubled its headcount over the last year. 

Funding the boom

The big increase in crypto prices certainly helped to fund the explosive growth, particularly for crypto companies that offer financial services including trading and lending services. But both these firms and others have also had large injections of VC funding to help accelerate their expansion plans.

According to The Block Research, there were 828 blockchain-related venture deals in the first half of 2021. Putting aside Block.one’s $9.7 billion injection into Bullish — its own crypto exchange — the sector saw $9.5 billion in funding. The majority of that investment came during the second quarter, shortly after the peak of the boom.

While there is certainly a shortage of desired skills in the crypto industry — particularly for talented engineers — the extra funding has helped to bring in more talent from traditional finance and tech. This has led to lots of key hires from many major investment banks and fintech firms.

And judging by the aggressive stances of many firms as noted above, there may well be more to come.