Breaking Into Crypto - Messari’s Unqualified Opinions #25
plus our inaugural contributor of the month
Unqualified Opinions #25
TL;DR
There’s no Vault guide to breaking into crypto. So where do you start if you’ve caught the bug and want to take the addiction full-time? Read everyday. Write everyday. Have an (informed) opinion. And read below. (TBI)
Breaking into Crypto
One of the most common questions we get from our community is, “How do I get a full-time job in crypto?”
It’s a tough question. The industry is still young and there aren’t many well defined paths for “breaking in.” Traditional career paths like finance or law have copious books, websites, and programs to help applicants prep to enter their industries.
It’s worth it, too. Giving people a clear understanding of what the opportunities are in an industry can help attract and retain top talent.
Ari Paul recently wrote an overview on the topic of “breaking into crypto” for Token Daily that does a good job of mapping out potential paths, but stops short of giving a guide on how to get from point A to point B.
Crypto can be a scary place, and for many potential candidates, the fear of bombing an interview because they didn’t know enough about cryptography, or game theory, or some other niche concept, can be overwhelming.
[TBI Note: No one knows what they’re doing in crypto. Well, maybe a few people.]
Our analyst community decided to bridge that gap and create a comprehensive open-source guide to getting a job in crypto.
Our analysts are a mix of students looking to get their first job, young pros looking to make the switch from their safe first gigs, and established vets who are looking for something new. And we held a kick-off call with them a couple weeks ago where we agree to start building out some sample career profiles and the skill sets needed in these roles.
Something like a Vault guide for crypto. Starting with a financial roles like “research analyst” we hope to cover skills, potential interview questions, firms that are hiring, and resources for positions ranging from engineering to business development.
If you are recruiting for a crypto firm or have broken into the industry from a space like finance, consulting, engineering, etc. and want to help us build the guide please send me (Eric) an email and we will get you involved in the discussion.
Likewise, if you are recruiting for a crypto analyst or other position at your firm let us know and we can connect you with some great candidates.
Contributor of the Month
Welcome to our inaugural contributor of the month!
At the end of each month, we’ll highlight the top Messari analysts based on a) their contributions to our “Agora” data library, b) their assistance in editing new content, and c) the amount of relevant content they include in each profile. (Three points for a full profile, two for a good start or helping to edit/make a major update to an existing profile, and one for a partial profile or minor update.)
Taking the top spot for October is one of our earliest analysts, Robert Clark, who is still going strong with four contributions during the month. (He was also one of the leaders last month…ping us for an intro!) Check out his recent profiles on Blocknet, Nano, Nebulas, and Crypto.com!
Robert Clark - 12 points
Jack Purdy - 9 points
Max Fiege - 6 points
Blair Marshall - 6 points
Steve Miller - 6 points
Right behind Robert was one of our newer members Jack Purdy, who contributed three high-profile project overviews including EOS, Steem, and Stellar. Max Fiege, Blair Marshall, and Steve Miller rounded out the top five with a six points each.
Over time we’ll add new categories / tweaks to our scoring system for things like overall activity and thoughtful long-form research. Think of this as a scoring system for identifying top workhorse analysts if you’re running a fund that’s hiring.
Make sure you check all the awesome community work in our full library.
Until next week…
-Eric & the Messari Team
P.S. Share. Subscribe. Spread the (rational) crypto love. Tweet at Messari for requests, feedback, comments, or questions.
P.P.S. As always, if you’re interested in helping crowdsource token project details, or want to join our community to share your expertise, we would love to have you! Take a second to fill out an application with your details and we will get back to you soon.
News & Analyses
Messari Compression Algorithm
Content and thoughts from around the web as summarized by the Messari team.
🌡️ Could Bitcoin mining raise global temperatures by 2 degrees?
Yes: (Bloomberg, Motherboard) If bitcoin ($BTC) were to become a true global transactional currency, the electricity needed to mine it alone would generate enough carbon dioxide to push the planet beyond 2 degrees Celsius of warming within a quarter-century—exceeding the limits set by the Paris Climate Agreement, according to a report published by Nature Climate Change.
No (Axios, Koomey.com): Experts raised issues with the assumptions made. For example, the projections assumed that the fuel types used to generate electricity will remain the same as they are today, ignoring the rise of renewables and decarbonizing of many countries. Also, accurately predicting future use of a novel technology is difficult, and many observers expect Bitcoin to serve more as an investment vehicle than a currency. (Messari)
🤯 [Analysis] Reimagining trusted intermediaries – Electric Capital
Sometimes disruptive innovations occur when a cultural shift is combined with utilitarian technology that allows the culture shift to scale. Blockchain and crypto are examples of this type of innovation as:
We are in the midst of a global collapse of trust in institutions
These technologies allow us to operate without these trusted intermediaries, and allow us to reimagine a world without these intermediaries
Blockchain allows us to reimagine trusted intermediaries. Cryptocurrencies are one of the first killer applications. When other benefits of decentralization outweigh the costs, further adoption will occur. The play right now should be to focus on crypto-native opportunities and to be patient. (Messari | Source)
Quick Bits (Don't read that, I read it for you)
Choke Points (Exchange News)
😡 MapleChange, a small Canada-based crypto exchange, allegedly pulled off an exit scam, disappearing with user funds after claiming a security breach. The exchange wiped its website, Twitter account, and other social handles along with the identity of its executives and chief executive officer. (Messari | Source)
😟 Coinbase has eliminated ~15 people from its customer support, compliance, and fraud departments most of whom were remote workers. (Messari | Source)
Startup Signals (ICOs, Cryptos, and Startups)
💰 StarkWare just closed a $30 million equity funding round led by Paradigm - a crypto fund started by Matt Huang a former Sequoia partner and Fred Ehrsam the founder of Coinbase - and a number of other major investors, including including Consensys, Sequoia, and Scalar Capital. (Messari | Source)
🆕 The Zcash ($ZEC) Sapling network upgrade was activated on Sunday. The hard fork aims to reduce transaction time and size through new shielded addresses furthering Zcash's mission of building a private and permissionless payment system. (Messari | Source)
The Powers That Be (Legal/Reg/Policy)
The Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) of the IRS is calling for further regulation on crypto transaction taxes. According to the group there may be as much as $25 billion in potential tax liabilities. (Messari | Source)
Did I miss something?
Send me the link, your twitter handle and your best imitation compression algorithm write up. If I like it, I’ll include your bit next issue (with attribution).
Podcast Recap
🎧 ICYMI, we also host & produce our own podcasts on Spotify, iTunes, and Google Play. In our latest episode, Katherine interviewed Blockchain Capital’s Spencer Bogart (disclosure: he’s a Messari investor) in SF. They chat about fund tokenization, benchmarks for crypto fund performance, and his transition from equity research to venture investing - something that might be interesting to our analyst community.
Some other great episodes are #9 (Tony Sheng on his writing proecess), #6 (Jake Chervinsky’s primer on federal & State crypto regulators), #4 (Nic Carter on data integrity in crypto), and #8 (Conversations on the ground at CryptoSprings).
Find our podcast series on Apple here, Google Play here, and Spotify here.
Shameless Plugs
We want your feedback!
We know Messari can feel like a couple different products right now, and we're working to unify our features into one overarching whole. To that end, We’ve made a Trello board to take in any and all of the feedback you have for us! Have at it 🛠
We're Hiring:
We need data engineers who want to bring transparency to crypto!
Join a fast growing team in NYC; work with crypto OGs, and former Bloomberg/Palantir engineers; & access a network that sets you up for the rest of your career. Apply here!
Upcoming Travel:
Hit us up in these locations:
DevCon, Prague, Czech Republic October 30–November 2nd, 2018.
Join Our Community:
If you are interested in helping us crowdsource token project details, or want to join our community to share your expertise, wed love to have you on board! Take a second to fill out an application and we will get back to you soon.
Going forward, we’ll be capping new members at 15 each week to keep things running smoothly. If you haven’t heard back, you are probably in the queue.
Like what you read? Share it! Hate what you read? Let me know @MessariCrypto.