Crypto industry employment shows clear signs of shrinking, Tiger Research says

The cryptocurrency industry is showing a clear trend of shrinking employment, according to a report from Tiger Research, an Asian Web3 research and consulting firm. The report, which analyzed the global crypto job market in the first half of 2026, noted that while new hires in the industry rebounded by 47% year-over-year to 66,494 in 2025, the figure still fell short of the 2022 peak. This year, the contraction has become more pronounced, with new job postings in January plummeting by approximately 80% compared to the same month last year. Of the 2,932 active job postings in the first quarter, engineering roles accounted for the largest share at 34.1%, followed by compliance and legal at 10.4%. By sector, centralized exchanges (CEX) represented the highest proportion of listings at 30.8%, with stablecoins and payments next at 13.4%. Job postings related to gaming and NFTs made up just 2.4%, reflecting a slump in the sector, the report explained.