Crypto Jobs in Malaysia: Can I Score a Web3 Gig in Crypto Winter?

Brace yourselves, Blockhead Gang. It looks like Crypto Winter is here to stay. With the global recession well under way, skyrocketing inflation rates continuously increasing and the war escalating in Europe, it’s no wonder Blockchain based organisations around the world – big or small – continue to lay off a chunk of their workforce.

Even the largest Web3 organisations announced its biggest layoffs this year amidst the bear market: Coinbase laid off 1,100 employees, Crypto.com let go of 260 people, Gemini cut its workforce by roughly 100 people and BlockFi reduced the number of its employees by 170 individuals. Moreover, Bitso, Buenbit and Mercado Bitcoin – major cryptocurrency exchange platforms – each laid off at least 80 people from their respective companies. According to Layoffs.fyi, 6,246 Crypto startup layoffs have occured in 2022. According to CoinDesk an estimated 11,708 crypto jobs have been lost based on media reports and press releases.The mass layoffs not only demonstrate how some huge players in the crypto space are not bulletproof and susceptible to large market changes, but did not implement strategic financial planning to keep promises to their staff during the unforeseen bear market.

Massive layoffs are not unique to the crypto space though. Even Malaysia’s first Unicorn, Carsome resulted in laying off 10% of its workforce even after its hiring spree earlier this year. Perhaps it’s safe to say that no tech companies, not even unicorns or decacorns, are immune to the current macroeconomic slowdown.

Despite massive workforce cuts, the crypto job market remains somewhat healthy as a whole. International crypto firms — including Kraken, Polygon, Consensys, Binance, Luno, ChainLink and FTX — are surprisingly still hiring in recent months, as they plan for future expansion. This means that Crypto curious individuals looking to gain themselves a job in the blockchain industry still have a very good chance of doing so.

The good news is that there is an increasing number of job opportunities in the crypto industry for Malaysians. A quick search through the local job portal, Hiredly shows a few firms looking for software engineers with tech knowledge in Web3.

The web3.career portal showcasing job listings specific to the Web3 industry has an even longer list of physical and remote positions available in Malaysia. This includes openings for a variety of tech & non-tech roles like account executives, compliance managers, talent acquisition specialists, operations specialists, marketing managers, events leads, campaign leads and more!

According to Huobi’s LinkedIn page, there are still job openings for Huobi in Malaysia in business development and fiat channel operations. The majority of the jobs available on CoinGecko’s website are student internships for roles in digital design, growth marketing, market research, operations, software engineering and UI/UX design – could this be a strategy to minimize salary overheads amidst the winter while still being able to expand the team? We reached out to the local HR hiring managers of CoinGecko and Huobi however there was no response.

What does the hiring future look like for the Malaysian crypto industry?

The future for web3 talent looks bright in Malaysia, according to industry folk that spoke to Blockhead. “Malaysian talents are hidden gems, and employers know it. The future is bright and with the right visibility and reassurance, any company (local or international) has the potential to engage these talents. KopiDAO is striving to increase this visibility for our amazing local talents,” Jason Chew, founder at KopiDAO.

Chew described Malaysian talent as extremely driven and believes that setting up KopiDAO’s homebase in Malaysia was the right move.

With the birth of Chew’s DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), he hopes to nurture the next 1 million web3 talents through education and close community engagements. He added that he is expanding his Malaysian team for roles in community management, web development, and design.

George Wong, head of Sandbox Singapore and Malaysia, revealed that he is currently on the lookout for new talent for the metaverse platform, particularly in consumer-facing roles such as a community manager, marketing manager and event manager, but only in 2023. He further added that there are no plans to lay off his workforce as there are still “massive growth opportunities” for Metaverse projects.

“I have mixed feelings about it. It doesn’t look too bright when the market generally isn’t too bullish. There are opportunities but they’re not as lucrative as other markets,” Wong said.

Read more on Sandbox: Multiverse Mammoths Mull on Malaysian Market Share

However, until the cryptocurrency market starts picking up, the potential for more companies to announce layoffs or even close down entirely could grow. The downward trend in the prices of most digital assets could become exacerbated by the declining stock market and result in further economic turmoil but what does this mean for Malaysia’s hiring future in Web3?

Evident from the data, big companies in and out of the blockchain world are laying off their workforce, however there are still a number of companies hiring amidst crypto winter in Malaysia. The pandemic has normalised the work from home model allowing companies to hire talent from all over the world. According to cryptojoblist, the average remote Crypto salary job pays approximately US$70,750 (RM335,072) per annum. Not too shabby annual income for us Malaysians against our extremely affordable cost of living.

Digital nomads who wish to make Malaysia a temporary home are able to thanks to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). With MDEC’s De Rantau Pass, digital professionals from all over the world are able to live and work in Malaysia with the new digital nomad pass, which also comes with nomad-ready hubs and specially curated services and facilities to ease your stay for a productive and memorable nomad experience around the country.

The web3 industry is still at its infancy and continues to evolve constantly with exciting new revelations on the daily. The hiring nature of the Malaysian web3 market is fruit that can be harvested amidst crypto winter. If you have an inkling of curiosity for the cryptocurrency industry, I encourage you to apply.

What do you think is the hiring future of the crypto industry in Malaysia? Drop us a tweet @blockhead with your thoughts. And follow the Blockhead Malaysia telegram group for more Malaysia-focused commentary and intel.