Crypto Lawyers Are in Hot Demand as the Industry Goes Mainstream, Say Experts

The crypto market might soon see an uptick in legal hiring as it is moving out of regulatory gray zones, according to a recent article from Bloomberg Law.

The publication interviewed a number of experts from the industry following the news that Coinbase had tapped former Facebook vice president and deputy general counsel, Paul Grewal, as the leader of its legal team.

The main consensus was that the amount of in-house hires in the crypto industry is likely going to rise significantly in the near future, mainly because the market is actively pushing itself into the financial mainstream.

Specifically, Marco Santori, chief legal officer of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, told Bloomberg that the company's legal team is going to double in size in 2021. In his view, crypto companies “are serious about participating in the international discourse around the development of crypto law.”

Meanwhile, a definitive regulatory framework is still missing in most countries. In conversation with Bloomberg Law, Ripple’s general counsel, Stuart Alderoty, stressed that the industry needs “smart regulation that both recognizes and fosters the potential of this technology.”

According to Santori, the current lack of specific laws makes the crypto industry especially engaging for lawyers who “enjoy an intellectual challenge.”

Signs that crypto is going mainstream

This year has had a number of key examples that indicate crypto could be entering the financial mainstream. JPMorgan Chase reportedly has taken on Coinbase and Gemini as customers. News recently began to circulate of Coinbase potentially being listed on the stock market. Not to mention that there has been an overall increase in crypto from institutional investors.

Global payments giant PayPal also recently began hiring crypto talent. At this point, it is looking for engineers, not lawyers.