Coinbase Establishes New York-Based Office To Support 150 Employees

As reported by Ethereum World News just recently, in February, Coinbase representatives divulged that it was likely to double its staff count from 250 to 500 by the time New Years rolls around. Just a few months after revealing this target, the firm’s spokespeople noted that their employer now has over 500 employees on payroll, even amid a bearish market.

This growth is only set to continue, with the San Francisco-based firm recently opening up a New York office to accommodate and appeal to institutional investors who are seeking exposure to crypto assets and blockchain technologies.

As revealed by Michael del Castillo, a crypto-focused contributor to Forbes, Coinbase New York just completed its ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, holding a series of events and talks to introduce institutions to what it can offer.

Coinbase New York is now officially open. pic.twitter.com/JCe8r392LB — Michael del Castillo (@DelRayMan) September 13, 2018

Per a multitude of tweets from Castillo, Adam White, the vice president and general manager of Coinbase Institutional, took a leading role in the new office’s inaugural day, making a series of presentations that brought attention to Coinbase’s extensive history, where it is now, and where the firm expects to be in the future, in the context of institutional adoption to be more specific.

In an exclusive with CoinDesk, White outlined the specifics of the new office and its intentions and aspirations. Firstly, it was revealed that the well-known crypto-focused infrastructure firm intends to expand its New York operation to 150 employees over the next year, from 20 as it stands today.

Explaining the reasoning behind this ambitious hiring plan, the general manager noted that even in the current market rut, there are still many institutions who are clamoring to make a foray into this asset class, so therein lies the value of Coinbase Institutional. White stated:

“When we saw the market begin to correct, which we all expected, institutions didn’t lose interest. It was exactly the opposite… They look at it as an opportunity to enter when things are not too frothy.”

But don’t count out the current staff members, as it was noted that a majority of the current local team were poached from the New York Stock Exchange, Barclays, and Citigroup, which goes to show that this industry is truly gaining traction, even in legacy markets. The Coinbase executive acknowledged this in the aforementioned ribbon-cutting ceremony, in which he noted:

“[New York] has an incredibly deep pool of talent… We have to create a bridge between financial services and technology. In order to do that, we need to pull from some of the best and brightest minds that have worked their whole careers in other kinds of traditional financial firms.”

Coinbase Continues Expansion

As alluded to earlier, even amid a bear market, the leading crypto startup is still eying aggressive expansion plans, both in terms of office locations and the products, services, and solutions the firm supports.

Coinbase has reportedly begun to consider a crypto-backed ETF, as covered by a previous Ethereum World News article. Insiders claim that the firm has its eyes on establishing an exchange-traded fund that will track the price of a variety of assets, likely the five assets already widely available in Coinbase’s ecosystem.

In related news, Coinbase has joined hands with leading blockchain-centric firms to establish the so-called “Blockchain Association.” For those who haven’t been keeping up-to-date with the most recent news, the Blockchain Association is a Washington D.C.-based lobbying group that intends to convince governmental bodies to give the crypto space some well-needed regulatory leeway in a bid to foster innovation.

Keeping these two recent developments in mind, it makes sense that Coinbase is still seeking to bolster its staff, even if it means poaching talent from legacy institutions and prominent schools and startups.

Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash