The number of job posting for blockchain talent has increased more than threefold on LinkedIn in the last 12 months, signaling the high demand by commercial industries to develop distributed ledger technology–based solutions.



The demand for blockchain developers reportedly greatly exceeds the supply as corporations are struggling to find experts in the field who are not already employed by the hundreds of blockchain startups that have emerged in recent years.

According to data collated by the Financial Times, there are over 1,000 blockchain jobs listed on LinkedIn, and the number of blockchain-related ads has been growing at over 40 percent per quarter.

Currently, there are around 10,000 users on LinkedIn who list “blockchain” as one of their skills, while over 37,000 results appear when searching for the keyword “blockchain” using LinkedIn’s “people search” function. However, these users are composed not only of the highly sought-after blockchain developers but also of CEOs, CFOs, academics, advisors, consultants and journalists, among others.

Given the high demand for blockchain developers, it is not surprising that salaries are exceeding standard market rates for developers. Today, a blockchain developer can easily make a salary north of $130,000 per year, while top blockchain developers can earn up to $650,000, according to a report by the Financial News.

The average total remuneration for senior traders and mergers & acquisitions bankers in London are £281,000 ($360,000) and £326,000 ($420,000) respectively according to data collated by City A.M. That places top blockchain developers among the best-paid professionals in the financial services industry.

Josh Graff, U.K. country manager at LinkedIn, told Bitcoin Magazine: “We’ve seen the number of blockchain-related jobs posted on LinkedIn more than triple over the last year. There are nearly 10,000 blockchain professionals on LinkedIn, out of our 500m members, so it’s a niche field, but one with strong potential.”

He added, “Professionals in related areas such as cryptography and machine learning may want to look at the roles available and the skills they need to develop, as there is certainly a growing demand within the technology, finance and insurance industries for blockchain expertise.”

According to LinkedIn data, currently four out of five blockchain jobs have been successfully filled within the quarter for the past year; however, that also means that companies are still not able to fill 20 percent of their blockchain talent demands.

The recent surge in blockchain-related job listings is a testament to the high hopes that financial institutions have for blockchain technology. For the future cost reductions and increases in efficiency that blockchain technology promises, financial services companies are willing to dig deep into their pockets to source the right talent that can make that happen for them.

If blockchain technology becomes as impactful on the financial industry as predicted, it will not be the traders and M&A bankers but the blockchain developers who will become the new “masters of the universe.”