With plans for aggressive growth, the crypto giant, Coinbase is looking forward to employ more than 100 employees soon. The plan of the cryptocurrency unicorn is to grow its recently opened New York office which is catering to the institutional clients.
With this, the digital currency exchange is looking to expand its operation from 20 employees to around 150 employees. According to Coinbase, the institutional demand for cryptocurrency has not been suppressed on the backdrop of slump in the prices this year.
Adam White, General Manager of Coinbase Institutional, said that institutions didn’t lose interest despite the correction, evident to all, begin in the market rather the situation was exactly the opposite.
He said that the institutions see this correction as an opportunity to foray into it when the things are not too bubbly.
Many of the local staff members were hired away from traditional financial institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange, Barclays, and Citigroup.
In an event organized to celebrate the opening of Coinbase’s first permanent location in New York, White said that there is an incredibly deep pool of talent in New York.
He further added, “A bridge between financial services and technology has to be created. So, to create this bridge some best and brightest minds have to be hired which have served in other kinds of traditional financial firms.”
Christine Sandler, Head, Institutional Sales at Coinbase and former employee of Big Board said that the security staff is comparable to the New York Stock Exchange so as to make the corporate clients comfortable when they visit the office.
He further said that the institutional custody, asset management and trading services shouldn’t be seen as conflicting with its previous focus on retail investors. Rather, the institutional distribution is the key to mainstream adoption.
Our focus is to enter into a partnership with apposite institutions to help the whole ecosystem grow said, Sandler. She further said that this is not institutional or retail as a lot of these institutions will be distributors.
Despite the slowdown in the crypto market, Coinbase is hiring aggressively. The company has now more than 500 employees across the globe. Notably, the new office of New York is not the only office which is attracting institutional clients and recruits.
White also informed that the company is planning to expand in Asia and Latin America. Establishment of office in Tokyo has already been started by Coinbase and the company is also hiring a small team and applying for a Financial Services Agency certification in Japan.
