• Bitcoin may be down 40% year-to-date, but crypto developers are making out like bandits. 
• Some firms are offering crypto talent $1 million signing bonuses, according to a Wall Street Journal report. 

Bitcoin may be down close to 40% since the beginning of the year, but that doesn't mean developers with expertise in the technology powering the crypto aren't making money hand-over-fist. A Wall Street Journal report found that companies are willing to pay a lot to lure crypto talent.

Some are even offering new hires $1 million signing bonuses, according to Dave Schwartz, the chief cryptographer at Ripple, who told The Journal pay packages "have got insane."Juha Mikkola, co-founder of Wyncode Academy, a coding school, told Business Insider he knows of developers being paid double the going-rate for their blockchain experience. 

"It's not just tech companies that need this talent, it's real-estate, non-profits, and banks," Mikkola said in an interview. 


The number of blockchain or cryptocurrency job postings on LinkedIn increased at least fourfold in 2017, Bloomberg News noted. Still such talent is in short supply, according to Miha Grcar, the head of business development for Bitstamp, a crypto exchange.

He said the talent shortage is a bigger headache than bitcoin's volatility. 

"Globally, the pool of talent — people with experience in blockchain and distributed-ledger technology — is somewhat limited," Grcar said.

"This is a big challenge.

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