Finding a job in the cryptocurrency field may be more challenging than ever. The rise of artificial intelligence has diverted once-abundant venture capital funding, and as the industry matures, cryptocurrency companies are now more selective than ever.
According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, the recent Coinbase summer internship program offered positions to only 0.3% of applicants, highlighting the immense level of interest relative to available spots.
Meanwhile, CryptoJobsList founder Raman Shalupau and researcher Stefi Kiemeney told Cointelegraph that they still frequently see over 200 applicants competing for a single job listing.
But how can one beat the competition? What common mistakes do most cryptocurrency job seekers make?
Cointelegraph spoke with several industry participants to reveal the most common mistakes made by cryptocurrency job seekers—and how to avoid them. Here are their insights.
Kevin Gibson, CEO of Proof of Search, stated in an interview with Cointelegraph that while there are many "cryptocurrency enthusiasts," few are genuinely building.
"Maybe they've traded a few tokens, bought one or two NFTs, read some articles, or browsed some X posts or LinkedIn posts. But usually, that’s where it stops," he said.
Gibson's comments echoed a similar observation made by CryptoRecruit founder Neil Dundon about a month ago on LinkedIn.
"If your resume says Web3 but your wallet shows 0x000, I have my doubts," Dundon said, adding:
"If you’re not living in this space, why would a founder trust you to build in it?"
While showcasing on-chain activity is a step in the right direction, Gibson noted that the clearest proof of real cryptocurrency work is an active GitHub account.
For those not pursuing to become on-chain experts, Gibson stated that publishing content, contributing to decentralized autonomous organizations, or demonstrating other forms of community involvement is essential.
Opportunities for non-technical cryptocurrency positions—such as finance, marketing, and operations—still exist, but Shalupau and Kiemeney pointed out that Rust developers, smart contract engineers, and zero-knowledge cryptography experts are the most sought-after hard skill roles.
The stereotype that technically proficient individuals often have poor communication skills may hold some truth, as recruiters say many talented builders struggle to articulate their work during interviews, which underestimates the projects they contribute to and weakens their job prospects.
"Companies want to find people who can build and explain in simple terms what they are building," Shalupau and Kiemeney from CryptoJobsList said.
Gibson mentioned that he has conducted some interviews where developers failed to answer basic questions:
Cryptocurrency companies use the application process to understand potential employees, and they want to see genuine, human-made applications—not AI-generated ones.
"Do not use AI in the application process—it’s easier to detect than you think, and you will be disqualified immediately," Shalupau and Kiemeney said.
They also advised applicants not to "shotgun their resumes" in interviews—encouraging them to focus on how they would use the company's tech stack or at least demonstrate a clear understanding of it.
Many applicants also focus on areas that were hot in 2021 but are far from their peak today.
According to Shalupau and Kiemeney, companies in stablecoins, decentralized finance infrastructure, and real-world asset tokenization are currently "hiring steadily," while the hype around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and play-to-earn games has "burned out."
The two referred to metaverse land sales as "dead," noting that while companies are still building virtual worlds, "the speculative land grab business model is over."
Earlier this week, leading metaverse platform Sandbox announced layoffs, with its two founders transitioning to strategic roles.
However, they stated that not all issues can be blamed on cryptocurrency job seekers.
Unfortunately, cryptocurrency faced a Lehman Brothers moment during the catastrophic collapse of FTX in November 2022, coinciding with OpenAI's transformation of the AI field by making large language models conversational and widely accessible—marking the beginning of a significant shift in job opportunities from cryptocurrency to AI.
Since then, AI has attracted a large amount of talent and capital away from the cryptocurrency field, Shalupau and Kiemeney said. "Developers and entrepreneurs follow the money and excitement, and now AI is absorbing both."
According to RootData, cryptocurrency funding peaked at $29 billion in 2021 and was $28.5 billion in 2022—but has sharply declined since 2023, with the total funding over the past two and a half years failing to exceed the total for 2022.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency companies raised funds in only 547 rounds in 2025—expected to be the lowest total since 2020—indicating that venture capital firms are placing larger bets on fewer startups.
Zackary Shelly, head of talent at Dragonfly, stated earlier this month on X that cryptocurrency hiring is also highly seasonal and influenced by the broader macro environment.
By examining data from the venture capital firm's cryptocurrency portfolio, over 300 new cryptocurrency positions were posted in January, a 60% increase from the previous month. However, by February, as cryptocurrency prices fell amid heightened discussions of U.S. tariffs, job postings dropped by 60%.
Shelly noted that March saw a reduction of 750 cryptocurrency positions—the largest monthly decline ever—with business development, customer service, and marketing roles being the hardest hit, while data science and engineering positions were less affected.
"Even when sentiment changes, these markets maintain demand across cycles—whether in a bull or bear market, competition is always fierce," Shelly said regarding more tech-focused positions.
Despite Dragonfly's data, Shalupau and Kiemeney from CryptoJobsList stated that while entering the industry is more challenging than before, cryptocurrency jobs are generally safer than they used to be.
"We see fewer job postings than at the peak in 2021, but the quality is higher. Companies are now hiring with sustainability in mind, not just hype," and "during the last bull market, there was a 'hire first, figure it out later' mentality," they said while referring to blue-chip companies.
However, Shalupau and Kiemeney pointed out that early-stage companies "are still very grassroots" and lack structured hiring processes.
Dundon also suggested that cryptocurrency companies should actively seek top talent rather than just posting on cryptocurrency job boards and hoping the right candidates will appear.
"The best candidates won’t fill out applications. They won’t browse job boards. They’re busy building. They get discovered because they’re already doing noteworthy work," the recruiter said in another post.
Related: Ray Dalio: 10 Financial Principles for Friends in China
Original article: “Failed Cryptocurrency Job Interviews? You Might Be Making These 4 Mistakes”
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