Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, said that his company has opened 2,000 positions for recruitment.
Binance’s move comes amid extreme volatility in the crypto market as investors are dumping risky assets out of fear that rising inflation may prompt the US Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates and propel the economy into recession. Will force
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has said it will cut nearly 1,100 jobs, or 18% of its workforce, the latest the company is preparing to ride out the downturn in the cryptosphere.
BlockFi and Crypto.com have also cut hundreds of jobs, while Meta Platforms and Intel Corp have also put the brakes on hiring.
“Today we are hiring 2000 open positions for Binance,” the CEO said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Zhao believes that the crypto winter is a good time to increase investment in talent and acquisitions.
“We have a very healthy war chest, we are really expanding hiring right now,” Binance CEO said via video link at the Consensus 2022 conference, when asked about rival Coinbase Inc.’s recent hiring freeze. Gone. His company is also “kicking into high gear in terms of M&A activity,” he said.
Crypto firms such as Coinbase, Gemini Trust Company and Rain Financial Inc. have not been immune from this year’s sell-off, which has affected both stock markets and digital-asset valuations, with the latter two falling as much as 10% in headcounts.
Zhao said Binance was thrifty and avoided huge promotional expenses such as Super Bowl commercials or acquiring naming rights to sports venues. Competing exchanges have made their name on the Crypto.com Arena and FTX Arena in recent times, which host various NBA franchises and other events.
Coinbase also jumped on the Super Bowl bandwagon and has been a major sponsor of NBA games.
“During a bull run, everyone is starting their own projects, everyone is giving ridiculous compensation to everyone,” Zhao said in a Consensus interview. Now the market is more balanced, he said, and “if we are in a crypto winter, we will take advantage of it, we will make the most of it.”
Building on efforts such as its $200 million investment in Forbes, Binance is also looking to increase its investments in other companies, which they explained is a strategic move to help more sectors adopt blockchain technology.
Zhao said that while Binance may not have offered adequate risk warnings and risk management in the past, the company will provide more user education and information going forward.