Author: JAY JO & YOON LEE

Translation: DeepTechFlow

Summary

Increase in job openings after Bitcoin ETF approval: Following the approval of the Bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2024, the number of global Web3 job openings has significantly increased, with a year-on-year growth of approximately 20% in the first half of 2024.

Job openings in Asia on the rise: Job openings in Asia have increased, further narrowing the gap with Europe. Singapore, India, and Hong Kong have shown particularly active recruitment activities.

Job openings for Web3 projects in Asia: Despite a slight decrease in job openings for Web3 projects in Asia since 2023, an increasing number of global Web3 projects are expanding their recruitment in the region, highlighting the growing importance of Asia in the Web3 field.

1. Introduction

The job openings of a company reflect 1) the execution of the company's strategy and 2) the demand of a specific industry, and can be used to predict the level of market activity in the future. In this report, we analyze the trends of global Web3 job openings to provide an overall insight into the Web3 market. This section of the report focuses on the status of Web3 job openings in the first half of 2024. The data is mainly sourced from Web3Jobs, a website that provides a list of job positions in the Web3 field.

2. Trends in Global Web3 Job Openings in the First Half of 2024

Global Web3 job openings in the first half of 2024, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

2.1. Changes in Job Openings since the Approval of Bitcoin ETF

Following the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2024, job openings in the global Web3 market began to significantly increase. With the rise in market recovery expectations, recruitment activities became relatively active. In the first half of 2024, the number of job openings increased by approximately 20% year-on-year, reflecting a significant increase in industry expectations compared to the previous year.

However, the current level of job openings is still lower than the peak in 2021/2022. This is mainly due to various factors such as market environment and technological innovation. Firstly, the impact of the approval of the Bitcoin ETF on the cryptocurrency trading and investment field is greater than its impact on the broader Web3 ecosystem. The increase in job openings mainly comes from cryptocurrency ETF management companies and exchanges, rather than Web3 projects.

For example, the number of job openings at cryptocurrency ETF management companies such as Grayscale increased to 28 in the first half of 2024, four times higher than the 7 in the first half of the year. Although job openings at cryptocurrency exchanges also increased, the change was not significant as these companies maintained stable demand.

Secondly, the recent market recovery is driven by speculation rather than technological innovation. The current market tends to favor speculative trading such as meme coins rather than new technological trends. As mentioned in our previous report, multiple meme coin projects with a market value of over $1 billion have emerged, attracting market attention. This trend indicates a lack of innovative developments driving industry growth. Given this short-term speculative trading culture, the actual demand for adoption in the Web3 industry is relatively limited.

2.2. June Marks a Decline in Job Openings

Since June 2024, we have observed a sharp decline in the number of job openings in the Web3 industry. This can be interpreted from two perspectives.

Firstly, the market environment may have deteriorated. The pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government's sale of Bitcoin, coupled with the subsequent decrease in cryptocurrency prices and trading volume, may have suppressed market sentiment.

Secondly, this may also be due to seasonal factors. Many companies typically temporarily suspend recruitment activities during the summer vacation season in June.

Therefore, the decline in job openings may be the result of a combination of an overall industry downturn and seasonal factors. We need to closely monitor the future trends in job openings to analyze this situation more accurately.

3. Web3 Job Openings by Continent in the First Half of 2024 (Cumulative by Month)

Web3 job openings by continent in the first half of 2024, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

Analyzing the regional trends of Web3 industry job openings in the first half of 2024, the ranking of job openings by region is as follows: 1) remote work, 2) North America, 3) Asia, 4) Europe, 5) Middle East. It is noteworthy that remote job openings have begun to surpass job openings in North America. This change indicates the rapid popularization of remote work in the Web3 industry, reflecting its increasingly flexible nature in terms of geographical location.

Another significant change is the widening gap in the number of job openings between the Asian and European markets. Since the first half of 2023, Asia has begun to surpass Europe, and this gap continued to widen in the first half of 2024. As of the first half of 2024, job openings in Asia accounted for approximately 20% of the total, while Europe accounted for about 15%. This trend clearly indicates the shift of interest and activity in the Web3 industry towards Asia.

4. Industry Trends of Web3 Job Openings in Asia in the First Half of 2024

Industry trends of Web3 job openings in Asia in the first half of 2024, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

As of the first half of 2024, the most active regions for Web3 job openings in Asia are: 1) Singapore, 2) India, 3) Hong Kong.

Singapore remains the region with the highest number of job openings, with a growth of approximately 23% compared to the second half of 2023. This growth is attributed to Singapore's clear regulatory framework and cryptocurrency-friendly business environment, making it an attractive market.

Hong Kong opened its Web3 market in June 2023, and initially saw an increase in job openings as more Web3 companies entered the market. Many companies prepared to operate in Hong Kong by obtaining cryptocurrency licenses. However, the situation began to reverse when the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong imposed a ban on mainland services for license applicants. In response, global exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and HTX withdrew their license applications, leading to an overall decrease in job openings. As a result, job openings in the Hong Kong market decreased by nearly 40% in the first half of 2024, slipping to third place after India.

5. Industry Trends of Web3 Job Openings in Asia in the First Half of 2024

In the first half of 2024, the number of job openings at cryptocurrency exchanges in Asia increased by approximately 45.6% compared to the second half of 2023. This growth may be attributed to the rise in Bitcoin prices and a significant increase in cryptocurrency trading volume, enhancing the industry's profitability.

The recruitment trends of most cryptocurrency exchanges in 2023 remained consistent, with the main exchanges being 1) OKX and 2) Binance. Previously, Binance had more active recruitment activities, but this trend changed in June 2023 following charges brought against it by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Additionally, Binance's attempts to obtain licenses in multiple countries such as Abu Dhabi and the Netherlands, where it failed to do so, may have led to a slight decrease in its global recruitment activities.

Interestingly, despite the similarity in recruitment levels at OKX compared to the second half of last year, the number of recruits at Coinbase has increased significantly, from 39 in the second half of last year to 209 in the first half of this year. This significant increase may be related to the approval of the Bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to a previous report by Kaiko, the approval of the Bitcoin ETF led to an increase in trading volume and liquidity on regulated exchanges in the United States. Coinbase seems to have benefited from this, resulting in a significant increase in job openings.

6. Trends in Mainnet Job Openings in the First Half of 2024

Mainnet job openings in Asia in the first half of 2024, Source: Web3Jobs, Tiger Research

In the first half of 2024, the number of mainnet job openings in Asia has slightly decreased compared to the second half of last year. However, it is worth noting that more mainnets have increased their recruitment activities in Asia compared to last year, with Scroll.io having 14 out of 20 job openings targeted at the region in the first half of 2024.

Immutable, a Web3 gaming mainnet based in Australia, has the highest absolute number of job openings in Asia. Other major non-Asian mainnets such as Ripple, Aptos, and Avalanche also continue to show recruitment demand in Asia. Although the absolute number of job openings is not high, it is evident that mainnet participants recognize the business opportunities and potential in the Asian market.

7. Other Significant Job Opening Trends

Source: Story Protocol

In the first half of 2024, several significant recruitment trends emerged. Story Protocol announced plans to launch a Layer 1 blockchain for tokenizing intellectual property, attracting a lot of attention. They actively recruited a total of 16 times since the beginning of the year.

Although Story Protocol is based in the United States, recent news indicates that they are also recruiting a business leader for their operations in South Korea. This indicates that Story Protocol plans to expand into the Korean market.

Source: Mocaverse

Animoca Brands is also recruiting aggressively. After recruiting only four people in the second half of 2023, they increased to nearly 40 people in the first half of 2024. Animoca Brands is recruiting for multiple projects, including the NFT project Mocaverse and the Web3 chess game Anichess, while also actively recruiting talent for their investment business.

8. Conclusion

In the first half of 2024, the number of job openings in the Web3 market has increased compared to the same period last year, but is still lower than the recruitment levels in 2021 and 2022. With the industry's development and market growth, an increase in job openings is a natural trend. However, despite the significant growth of the Web3 industry, the number of job openings has not met industry expectations.

This difference is partly due to the Web3 industry's tendency towards short-term consumption trends, such as meme coin trading and airdrop activities, rather than nurturing a sustainable ecosystem. To achieve sustainable growth, the industry needs fundamental shifts in discourse and the emergence of new technological trends. If this change does not occur in the second half of 2024, the risk of industry growth stagnation will increase.

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