A growing number of senior executives at technology giants such as Google (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) are quitting to take jobs at cryptocurrency start-ups.
Blockchain platforms such as Polygon and Circle have hired top talent from big tech companies, enticing them with the pitch of working on “Web 3.0,” or “Web3” as it is often called.
Ryan Wyatt left YouTube to lead a new gaming studio at Polygon. Wyatt had joined the Google-owned YouTube back in 2014 to head up a push into video games content and compete more aggressively with Amazon’s Twitch platform.
The list of Silicon Valley talent jumping ship for crypto firms also includes Sherice Torres, the former chief marketing officer of Meta Platforms’ (FB) crypto and payments unit. She was hired by Circle. And Amazon cloud executive Pravjit Tiwana fled to join crypto exchange Gemini as its chief technology officer.
The buzz surrounding Web3 has attracted some of the brightest minds in technology. The Web3 movement proposes overhauling the internet in a way that would move popular online services over to decentralized technologies such as blockchain.
Analysts say technology executives are being drawn to the burgeoning industry in part due to its rapid growth and money. According to data from Blind, a social network for technology professionals, Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Coinbase pays as much as $900,000 U.S. a year for software engineers.
Investment into cryptocurrency companies has surged, meaning they’ve got much more cash to spare on lucrative compensation packages. Blockchain start-ups raised a record $25 billion U.S. in venture capital last year, according to CB Insight figures.
Tech start-ups also typically let staff own a piece of their company through stock option schemes. With valuations for private cryptocurrency companies soaring, that means early employees could be in line for a big payout in the event of a takeover or initial public offering (IPO).
