Crypto industry can’t hire enough lawyers
The cryptocurrency industry is ramping up efforts to recruit more legal talent as it faces increased regulatory pressure while looking to be accepted by and become part of mainstream finance.
Crypto exchanges and companies are poaching attorneys left and right, from both law firms and other crypto companies, bringing them in-house to help navigate an evolving regulatory landscape while helping to curb outside legal expenses, industry participants said. Law firms, which are sometimes losing their partners to in-house positions, are also building up their crypto practices to maintain that valuable expertise.
The increased demand for lawyers also marks a turning point for crypto, whose early supporters often expressed skepticism of regulation. The industry has been expanding rapidly with hopes of attracting more mainstream investment opportunities and many are embracing the stance that they want regulatory clarity.
“In [the crypto] space, the consensus is you need to have someone in-house early," said John Wolf Konstant, a senior consultant at technology-focused legal recruiting firm Whistler Partners. “Especially since investors are going to require that, you need to have someone there to help chaperone the process and to make sure everything is buttoned up from the start."
Competition is also driving up salaries in the crypto space at a faster rate than in the larger in-house legal market, particularly for senior-level positions, Mr. Konstant said. Total annual packages, including tokens and equity, can run into seven figures at the very top of the market, he added.
Marco Santori, chief legal officer of Kraken, tweeted in February that the San Francisco-based crypto exchange was looking to hire 30 lawyers in the next
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