Market Overview

As regulatory frameworks for digital assets continue to evolve, firms are fervently hiring to keep pace, both for entry-level and senior positions.

Reuters highlighted that the overall increase in demand exerted by digital assets firms is probably a 'net positive’ for compliance and risk professionals in traditional financial services organisations, by driving overall compensation higher.

For those with niche regulatory skills in this field, particularly within payments and settlements, trading and securitisation, there is an opportunity to build the compliance function from the ground-up.

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Traditional Financial Services vs. Digital Assets

However, the opacity of the regulatory landscape and the potential for fewer personnel or financial resources at start-ups, makes digital assets an often challenging sector for compliance and risk professionals.

Additionally, there have been mixed responses from compliance offers from traditional financial services backgrounds when looking to recruit into the space.

Some are of the opinion that the dark elements of cryptocurrency and unregulated environments are too risky and go against certain compliance professionals’ values.

On the other hand, many compliance professionals enjoy the environment because it’s new, exciting, trendy and technology aligned.

There have been some major recruits from hedge funds, investment banks, and major fintech players.

In December 2021, it was reported that nearly one-third of hedge fund managers plan to add crypto to their portfolios in the near future, according to firms surveyed by EY for a recent report on the global alternative fund industry.

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The Battle to Retain Talent Within Compliance/Financial Crime

From a retention perspective, rapid growth in the market has meant tenure with professionals ends up being much less than your traditional financial services roles.

Many candidates are jumping between two and three positions in a year. Forbes’ Crypto and Blockchain reporter highlighted back in August 2021 how recruitment had “exploded” in the space, by an impressive 118%.

This has resulted in firms throwing large uplifts to individuals to lure them away from their current positions.

It’s clear that retaining talent is becoming increasingly difficult, and compensation packages, specifically at senior levels, are being designed to be as appealing as possible.

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Regulating the Crypto Sector

Finally, regulators are sniffing around the cryptocurrency space trying to find their angle, and their place in regulation.

We expect the digital assets to only gain more traction from here. ESMA recently reported on this, stating, “ESMA has been working with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) on analysing the different business models of crypto-assets, the risks and potential benefits that they may introduce, and how they fit within the existing regulatory framework.”

This partnership brought to the surface a number of concerns in the current financial regulatory framework regarding crypto assets. You can read the full article here.

Large investment banks are awaiting the growth of digital assets before applying heavy resources to the area.

Goldman Sachs already has specialist cryptocurrency compliance officers with other banks awaiting more clarity from regulators before fully committing.

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Recruitment and the Future of Crypto and Digital Assets

The future of cryptocurrency is incredibly bright, and there are exciting times ahead for an industry that is only in its infancy.

However, there is still a long way to go from a talent attraction and retention perspective, and a close eye should be kept on regulations which may disrupt the buoyancy of the market at present.

At Rutherford, we have specialists within Compliance Recruitment who cover areas such as Crypto Compliance Recruitment and Financial Crime Recruitment.

If you are looking for a comprehensive market update regularly, please reach out to one of our consultants who will be more than happy to answer any queries that you may have.

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"The future of cryptocurrency is incredibly bright, and there are exciting times ahead for an industry that is only in its infancy"

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Market Insights

The below data is the result of Rutherford's latest research into the crypto/digital assets space, showcasing the growth and decline of compliance and financial crime functions for specific players in the industry.

The hiring demand in the industry is considered very high specifically in London but also New York, Singapore, Zurichand the Netherlands.

The top companies employing compliance and financial crime talent in the past 12 months wereCoinbase, Celsius, Crypto.com, Okcoin and Bitfinex.

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A Snippet of the Market

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Salaries

Compliance and Financial Crime, Payments and Retail

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Compliance and Financial Crime, Exchange and Wholesale

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For the PDF version of Rutherford's Financial Crime/Compliance Salary Survey - Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets, click here.

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Contact

For more information on our Crypto Compliance Salary Survey, contact one of our Crypto Compliance recruiters:

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Jackson Baker, Director, Legal and Compliance
jackson@rutherfordsearch.com
0207 870 7409

Georgina Housden, Associate Director
georgina@rutherfordsearch.com
0203 778 1252

Jack Merriott, Consultant
jack@rutherfordsearch.com
0203 778 0846