The Talent Mobility Cycle of Centralized Exchanges: Historical Lessons from Binance to FTX and the Future of Web3

Exchange Talent Migration in Market Cycles

It reminds me of the collective migration of traders on Wall Street after the 2008 financial crisis, which I witnessed firsthand at Morgan Stanley. Essentially, the centralized exchange industry is undergoing a similar periodic talent flow. Binance's hiring frenzy, Bybit's strategic adjustments, and OKX's shift in focus all hide profound market signals.

Looking back at the past three cycles: the wild growth of exchanges during the 2017 ICO era, the impact of centralized exchanges in the 2020 DeFi summer, and the industry restructuring after FTX's collapse in 2022... Each turning point reshapes the talent map. In the recruitment data from MyJob.one, we can see clear cyclical fluctuations: whenever spot trading volume breaks new records, the demand for quantitative trading talent increases by 47%; and when derivatives market share exceeds 60%, the average salary for risk control positions rises by 35%.

The Four Historical Stages of Exchange Talent Markets

1. 2013-2017: The Founding Phase - Needed versatile technical talent, with one CTO often responsible for both matching engines and customer service systems
2. 2017-2020: The Expansion Phase - Binance's hiring-led global wave, with multilingual customer service teams becoming standard
3. 2020-2022: The Professionalization Phase - Institutional-grade products催生了derivatives structure designers and other new positions
4. 2022 Onward: The Compliance Phase - Demand for anti-money laundering experts has grown by 300% year-on-year

Comparing Talent Strategies of the Top Five Exchanges

From a strategic perspective, the current recruitment approaches of major players reflect entirely different philosophies of survival:

• Binance's hiring still maintains a "broad funnel" strategy, absorbing talent across the entire ecosystem with salaries 15% higher than industry standards
• Bybit's hiring has shifted toward compliance and institutional services, with its Singapore office legal team expanding fourfold in the past 18 months
• OKX's hiring is heavily investing in Web3 infrastructure, with wallet and DEX-related positions accounting for 43% of their workforce
• The now-bankrupt FTX's hiring once exemplified the "star effect," assembling an ultra-premium product team in Silicon Valley style

This differentiation reminds me of the different attitudes traditional investment banks had toward blockchain technology in 2015. At that time, Goldman Sachs chose to build its own team, while JPMorgan opted to invest in startups—ultimately proving both strategies could succeed, with execution consistency being key.

Talent Value Investment in the Web3 Era

Gently advising job seekers: choosing an exchange career is like selecting a growth stock, requiring attention to three fundamental indicators:

1. Technical debt ratio - Check if the exchange continuously invests in infrastructure updates
2. Regulatory adaptability - Observe their compliance efforts across jurisdictions
3. Innovation conversion rate - Measure the alignment between product iteration speed and market demand

In the most recent candidates served by MyJob.one, those with hybrid skills in traditional finance risk management and blockchain technology consistently command 15%+ salary premiums, even during market downturns. This validates the truth I've believed for 12 years: those who transcend cycles are always the irreplaceable professionals.

Five Career Lessons from FTX's Collapse

Whenever mentoring junior professionals, I share these hard-won lessons:

• Be wary when grand narratives of "changing the world" obscure fundamental business issues
• Exercise caution when employee stock options exceed 60% of total compensation
• Avoid companies with frequent management changes (FTX replaced three CEOs in the 18 months before its collapse)
• Value financial professionals' expertise (many crypto exchanges' CFOs have never completed a full audit cycle)
• Maintain cross-platform transferable skills

Beyond these lessons lies a veteran's heartfelt hope for industry health. Just as Wall Street eventually prioritized risk management after the 2008 crisis, I hope FTX's hiring failure will prompt the entire industry to establish more rational talent evaluation systems.

New Opportunities After The Merge

With Ethereum's merge completed, Web3 trading platforms are undergoing profound technological transformation. In MyJob.one's latest talent report, we've observed:

• ZK-Rollup development engineer salaries increased by 82% year-over-year
• MEV research specialist positions grew fivefold
• Traditional market makers are systematically recruiting on-chain data analysts

Gently suggesting to professionals: now is the time to build skills in L2 infrastructure, just as learning Solidity development was strategically valuable in 2016. Remember, true career safety margins don't come from chasing trends, but from building replicable technical moats.

For HR Leaders of the Next Cycle

As someone who has experienced multiple bull and bear markets, I want to say to exchange HR leaders: allocate 30% of your recruitment budget to "anti-cycle talent"—those who remain clear-headed during market frenzies and persist in building value during downturns. They may lack the shine of DeFi project experience, but often possess the core capabilities to weather storms.

Essentially, a healthy Web3 trading platform ecosystem requires balancing the ratio of "rocket scientists" and "bridge engineers." When helping clients build teams at MyJob.one, we always emphasize this golden ratio: 70% existing talent ensures daily operations, while 30% future talent drives innovation.