As the cryptocurrency business confronts greater regulatory pressure and seeks to be accepted by and become part of mainstream finance, it is stepping up attempts to acquire more legal talent.
Industry players say crypto exchanges and corporations are recruiting attorneys from law firms and other crypto companies, bringing them in-house to assist negotiate a developing regulatory landscape while lowering outside legal costs.
Law firms, which are losing partners to in-house jobs, are bolstering their crypto practises in order to retain that important knowledge.
The rising demand for attorneys is also a watershed moment for cryptocurrency, whose early proponents were generally sceptical of regulation.
The business has been quickly developing in the expectation of attracting more mainstream investment possibilities, and many people are supporting the position that regulatory clarification is needed.
“The consensus in [the crypto] space is that you need to have someone in-house early,” said John Wolf Konstant, a senior consultant at Whistler Partners, a technology-focused legal hiring agency. “You need someone there to assist oversee the process and make sure everything is in order from the start, especially because investors will want it.”
Salary increases in the crypto space are outpacing those in the wider in-house legal market, particularly for senior-level roles, according to Mr. Konstant.
At the absolute top of the market, total yearly packages, including tokens and stock, may reach seven figures, he continued.
In February, Kraken’s chief legal officer, Marco Santori, tweeted that the crypto exchange in San Francisco was aiming to employ 30 attorneys in the next three months.
He went on to say that he would want to recruit 60 people, but “honestly, I don’t know how to accomplish it.”
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