Crypto jobs: Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad lead in demand for skilled professionals as industry stabilises

India's cryptocurrency sector is expecting a hiring upswing by 2025-start as the industry stabilises due to domestic regulatory clarity, the market boost from the 2024 United States Presidential elections, which saw Donald Trump win, and the entry of global exchanges into the country, according to a report by the Economic Times.

Further, the presence of crypto-proponent Elon Musk at the decision table of Trump's ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ aka ‘DOGE’ is also pushing the upward trajectory, it added.

Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, told the paper that the impact of the US elections was profound and convinced “potential hires that the crypto industry is legitimate and not a scam”; while Mudita Chauhan, CHRO at CoinDCX, called it a “ripple effect”.

Demand for Skilled Professionals for Crypto Jobs

The report noted that metros such as Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune, which host several Web3, blockchain, and crypto companies, will lead the demand for skilled professionals in India's crypto space.

"With institutional investors entering the market and increased uptake of crypto and blockchain, the need for skilled professionals across technical, legal, and operational roles will be in demand," Patel told the paper.

On Prospects…

Chauhan told the paper that CoinDCX's recent hiring of Abhinav Jain (from Pharmeasy) as CFO, Prashant Verma (from Licious) as chief growth and marketing officer, and Tushar Tarun (from Cashfree) as head of legal points to the willingness of established sector executives to move to Web3.

According to Prasadh MS, head of workforce research at specialist staffing firm Xpheno, cited in the report, the present demand for crypto-related jobs is 60 per cent of November 2023 levels. He added that there are more than 2,500 listed jobs in the market.

On Salaries…

On the salary prospects, however, Prasadh was of the view that the fat hikes ranging from 8-35 per cent are a thing of the past. Average salaries for blockchain architects, developers and specialists range from ₹12-32 lakh pa and can increase up to ₹35-78 lakh pa for experts, he said, noting that hikes remained zero for 18 month blocks.