Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue to disrupt the global marketplace; organizations that leverage these innovative technologies can expect to see an increase in regulatory intervention in 2018. As a result of the proliferation of blockchains and cryptocurrencies, the market is witnessing a fight for talent to fill leadership roles involved with driving adoption of, and compliance with, emerging relevant legislation.
Several factors need to be considered by businesses and governments when fighting this latest battle in the war for talent, including the impact on today’s global labor market, which professional skills may be required to address challenges presented by game-changing technologies, and geographic ramifications of increased labor competition.
If You Resist, the Talent Will Flow Elsewhere…
Nations that resist or ban cryptocurrencies may end up ceding valuable human capital, as well as associated economic development opportunities. Top talent will flow to early-adopting nations that will benefit from the growth in corporate and personal income taxes as these technologies become more ubiquitous.
The implications for countries — and businesses — with high concentrations of executives in the technology sector are obvious: dynamic and ambitious technology workers migrate to markets where their skills are valued and where they have autonomy to operate.
Talent Is Needed to Keep Pace With Innovation
Innovation is outpacing regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. In Southeast Asia, “point-of-sale” terminals accepting bitcoin are as common as Starbucks outlets in the U.S. Richard Branson has joined the parade, accepting payment in bitcoin for seat reservations into space on Virgin Galactic, for example.
It is no surprise that we’re starting to see large institutions take notice of the need for talent to keep up with so much change and disruption. Morgan Stanley recently updated its job postings for equity research positions noting that “knowledge of cryptocurrency
