Coinbase, one of the leading crypto startups in the U.S., plans to hire over 100 staff for its newly opened New York office.
The New York office is dedicated to institutional investors and Coinbase says it wants to increase its personnel to 150 from 20 presently.
This move is in line with the growing interest in cryptocurrency from institutional or accredited investors.
This interest intensified last year when crypto markets surged to all-time highs and both CBOE and CME launched their first bitcoin futures contracts late in the year.
Coinbase itself went in on the trend as it launched its suite of products targeted at institutional investors.
The crypto operators said they observed the reactions of these investor class over time their interest in crypto has not waned despite the drawn-out downturn in the markets. Interestingly, they have ramped up interest.
Adam White, the general manager of Coinbase Institutional explains:
“When we saw the market begin to correct, which we all expected, institutions didn’t lose interest […] it was exactly the opposite […] They look at it as an opportunity to enter when things are not too frothy.”
Coinbase expansion and Hiring Spree
Coinbase has benefitted greatly from the cryptocurrency boom of 2017 and the general cryptocurrency interest.
The exchange has built on its growth, developing products tailored to different target groups as can been seen in its separation of products for retail customers and institutional customers.
It has also increased its number of staff to over 500 in a short space of time.
As the company seeks to fill its New York branch, top financial institutions should get worried as Coinbase has a knack for poaching talents from established institutions.
White confirmed this at the commission the New York office location. In order “to create a bridge between financial services and technology”, White said “[Coinbase] need to pull from some of the best and brightest minds that have worked their whole careers in other kinds of traditional financial firms.”
Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.
