TL;DR

• Job Postings Increase After Bitcoin ETF Approval: Global Web3 job postings surged after the US SEC approved Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, increasing nearly 20% year-over-year in the first half of 2024.
• Increased Job Postings in Asia: Job postings in Asia have risen, widening the gap with Europe. Singapore, India, and Hong Kong are particularly active in recruiting.
• Mainnet’s Job Postings in Asia: Although mainnet job postings in Asia have decreased since 2023, more global mainnets are expanding their hiring in the region, highlighting Asia’s growing significance in the Web3 sector.

1. Introduction

A company’s job postings are a measure of 1) a company’s strategy execution, and 2) the demand in a particular industry, which can be used to predict how active the market will be in the future. In this report, we analyze global Web3 job posting trends to provide an overall insight into the Web3 market. This part of the report focuses on the status of Web3 job postings in H1 2024. The primary data source for this report is publicly available data from Web3Jobs, a site that provides job listings in the Web3 space.

2. H1 2024 Global Web3 job postings trends

H1 2024 Global Web3 job postings, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

2.1. Changes in Job Postings Since the Bitcoin ETF Approval

Job postings in the global Web3 market started to increase significantly after the US SEC approved the Bitcoin spot ETF in January 2024. As expectations for a market recovery have risen, job posting activity has become relatively brisk. In the first half of 2024, the number of job postings increased by about 20% compared to last year, reflecting a significant rise in overall industry expectations compared to the previous year.

However, current job posting levels are still lower than during the 2021/2022 boom. This is likely due to several factors. First, the Bitcoin ETF approval has had a bigger impact on the crypto trading and investment sector than on the broader Web3 ecosystem. The increase in job postings is primarily driven by crypto ETF managers and exchanges rather than Web3 projects.

For example, job postings by crypto ETF management company such as Grayscale, quadrupled to 28 in the first half of 2024, compared to 7 in the previous half-year. While crypto exchanges have seen some increase in job postings, the change is not significant as these entities have maintained constant demand due to their stable revenue models.

Secondly, the recent market upswing has been driven by speculation rather than technological innovation. The current market leans toward speculative trading such as meme coins, rather than new technological trends. As noted in our last report, several meme coin projects with market capitalizations exceeding $1 billion have emerged, capturing significant market attention. This trend indicates the lack of innovative developments that are driving the industry. Given this short-term, speculative trading culture, actual adoption demand in the Web3 industry has been relatively limited.

2.2. June Marks a Return to the Downward Trend in Job Postings

Starting in June 2024, we observe a sharp decline in the number of job postings in the Web3 industry. This can be interpreted in two ways.

First, the market environment may have deteriorated. The decline in cryptocurrency prices, due to the pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government to sell Bitcoin, coupled with the subsequent drop in trading volumes, may have dampened market sentiment.

Second, it could also be a seasonal factor. Many companies tend to temporarily pause their hiring activities as they enter the summer vacation season starting in June.

Therefore, the decline in job postings could be a combination of both industry-wide downturn and seasonal factors. We will need to closely monitor future job posting trends to analyze this more accurately.

3. H1 2024 Web3 Job Postings by Continent (Monthly Cumulative)

H1 2024 Cumulative web3 job postings by continent, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

Analyzing job posting trends by region in the Web3 industry for the first half of 2024, the ranking of job posting activity is as follows: 1) Remote work, 2) North America, 3) Asia, 4) Europe, and 5) Middle East. Notably, remote job postings are beginning to outpace those in North America. This shift indicates that remote work is rapidly becoming more common in the Web3 industry, reflecting its geographically agnostic nature and suggesting that working arrangements are becoming increasingly flexible.

Another significant change is the widening gap in job postings between the Asian and European markets. Asia began to outpace Europe in the first half of 2023, and the gap has continued to widen in the first half of 2024. As of H1 2024, Asia accounts for about 20% of all job postings, while Europe accounts for about 15%. This trend clearly demonstrates that interest and activity in the Web3 industry are gradually shifting towards Asia.

4. H1 2024 Asia Web3 Job Posting Trends by Sector

H1 2024 Asia web3 job postings by sector, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

As of the first half of 2024, Web3 job postings in the Asian market are most active in 1) Singapore, 2) India, and 3) Hong Kong.

Singapore remains the leader with the highest number of hires, showing an increase of about 23% compared to H2 2023. This growth is due to Singapore’s clear regulatory framework and business-friendly environment for cryptocurrencies, making it an attractive market.

Hong Kong opened its Web3 market in June 2023 and initially saw an increase in hiring as more Web3 companies entered the market. Many companies prepared to do business in Hong Kong by obtaining crypto licenses. However, the situation began to reverse when the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) imposed a ban on mainland Chinese services for license applicants. In response, global exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and HTX withdrew their license applications, leading to a decline in overall hiring. As a result, the Hong Kong market experienced a nearly 40% drop in hiring from the previous half-year and slipped to third place behind India.

5. H1 2024 CEX Job Posting Trends

H1 2024 CEX job posting, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

In the first half of 2024, job postings at cryptocurrency exchanges increased by about 45.6% compared to the previous half-year. This rise is likely driven by the increasing price of Bitcoin and the significant surge in cryptocurrency trading volumes, which have enhanced the profitability of the industry.

The majority of crypto exchange hiring trends remain consistent with 2023, with the leading exchanges being 1) OKX and 2) Binance. Previously, Binance was more active in hiring, but this trend shifted following the indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in June 2023. Additionally, Binance’s unsuccessful attempts to secure licenses in several countries, including Abu Dhabi and the Netherlands, may have contributed to a slight decline in their global hiring activities.

Interestingly, while OKX’s hiring levels have remained similar to those in the second half of last year, Coinbase has seen a substantial increase, rising from 39 hires in the second half of last year to 209 in the first half of this year. This spike may be linked to the US SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs. According to a previous Kaiko report, Bitcoin ETF approval has led to increased trading volume and liquidity on U.S. regulated exchanges. Coinbase appears to have benefited from this, resulting in a significant increase in job postings.

6. H1 2024 Mainnet Job Posting Trends

H1 2024 Asia web3 job posting by mainnet, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

In the first half of 2024, mainnet hiring in Asia showed a slight decrease compared to the second half of last year. However, it is notable that more mainnets are hiring in Asia than last year, with Scroll.io having 14 of its 20 H1 2024 hires targeting the region.

Immutable, an Australian-based Web3 gaming mainnet, has the largest number of hires in Asia in absolute terms. Other major non-Asia-based mainnets such as Ripple, Aptos, and Avalanche are also showing continued demand for hires in Asia. While the absolute number of hires is not high, it is evident that mainnet players recognize the business opportunities and potential of the Asian market.

7. Other Notable Job Postings Trends

Source: Story Protocol

In the first half of 2024, several notable hiring trends emerged. Story Protocol announced plans for a layer 1 blockchain for IP tokenization, attracting significant attention. They began hiring actively in the first half of the year, making a total of 16 hires.

While Story Protocol is based in the US and, recent news indicates they are also hiring Korean business leads. This suggests Story Protocol is planning to expand into the Korean market.

Source: Mocaverse

Animoca Brands is also on a hiring spree. After making only four hires in the second half of 2023, they ramped up to nearly 40 hires in the first half of 2024. Animoca Brands is recruiting for various projects, including the NFT project Mocaverse and the Web3 chess game Anichess, and is also actively hiring for its investment business.

8. Conclusion

In the first half of 2024, the number of job postings in the Web3 market increased compared to the same period last year, but it remains lower than the levels seen in 2021 and 2022. As the industry evolves and the market grows, an increase in job postings is a natural progression. However, despite the scale of growth of the Web3 industry, the number of job postings has not met expectations.

This disparity is partly due to the Web3 industry being skewed towards short-term and consumptive trends like meme coin trading and airdrops, rather than fostering a self-sustaining ecosystem. For the industry to achieve sustainable growth, there needs to be a fundamental shift in discussions and the emergence of new technological trends. If such changes do not occur in the latter half of 2024, there is a risk of stagnation in the industry’s growth.

Disclaimer:

This article is reprinted from [tiger-research], the original title “H1 2024: Analysis of Global Web3 Job postings”, the copyright belongs to the original author [Jay Jo and Yoon Lee], if there are objections to the reproduction, please contact Gate Learn team, the team will be dealt with according to the relevant process as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not constitute any investment advice.

Articles in other languages are translated by the Gate Learn team and may not be reproduced, distributed or plagiarised as translated without reference to Gate.io.