Crypto careers are increasingly incestuous

In an uncertain time for finance and fintech in particular, there has been much discussion about whether now is really the time to jump from traditional finance. Some still do, but crypto is also becoming a career path in its own right.

Last year, bank-to-crypto moves were all the rage. This year they are still happening, but at a much slower pace. In May, Celsius hired the former CEO of both Bank of America and Credit Suisse, Courtney Campbell, and just a few months later in July, Coinbase acquired ousted Goldman Sachs CEO Richard Kelly. B2C2 tapped Morgan Stanley CEO Thomas Restout to be their EMEA CEO; Coinbase hired Goldman Sachs MD, Usman Naeem.

At the same time, people are increasingly moving within the emerging areas of the financial industry as crypto employment becomes increasingly incestuous. For example, Blair Halliday, the former UK CEO at Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins, has just joined Kraken. Lory Kehoe, Coinbase’s head of EMEA market operations, based in Dublin, joined from a healthcare blockchain in June. Daniel Seifert, former head of Solarisbank, a German fintech platform, has just arrived at Coinbase to lead the European expansion.

Crypto (and fintech) enthusiasts might argue that the rise of native career paths is simply a sign of a maturing industry. Yet with plummeting depreciation (Coinbase’s share price has gone from $253 in January to $69 now) and former leading fintech lights who Klarna and Adyen are suffering massive reductions in their market capitalization, and it’s a reminder that if you have a comfortable job in a bank, a job outside of traditional finance doesn’t look as shiny as it used to.

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