Blockchain needs regulation, scalability to close AI hiring gap

Published

4 months ago

April 25, 2025

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Blockchain needs regulation, scalability to close AI hiring gap

The emerging blockchain industry lags behind the artificial intelligence sector in terms of job creation, but this hiring gap may narrow by 2030.

Blockchain remains one of the smallest sectors in the tech industry, with about 300,000 global jobs, compared to 1.5 million in AI and machine learning and 25 million in software development, according to a new Bitget Research report shared with Cointelegraph.

The blockchain sector added around 20,000 new jobs in 2024, according to job listings aggregated from platforms like LinkedIn, Web3 Jobs and Crypto Job List.

While blockchain-based jobs had an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45%, outpacing most traditional tech sectors, it trails the AI industry’s 57% CAGR, according to the report.

The AI industry’s maturity and larger share of venture capital investment are the main reasons behind the hiring discrepancy, Vugar Usi Zade, chief operating officer of Bitget exchange, told Cointelegraph:

“Venture investors put more than $100 billion into AI startups in 2024, with AI-centric titles topping a million vacancies worldwide,” Usi Zade said. “Blockchain companies, meanwhile, advertise barely 20,000 openings and drew only about $5.4 billion in new funding during the same period.”

Blockchain may generate over 1 million jobs by 2030

AI-related job listings have risen between 75% and 100% year-over-year, while blockchain job growth remains around the 45% to 60% growth range.

Blockchain could exceed 1 million jobs by 2030 if it manages to scale at the same rate as AI-based roles, the report said.

More regulatory clarity from laws such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) may encourage blockchain firms to increase their hiring efforts, Zade said:

“Europe’s MiCA rule-book, live since December 2024, is already thawing hiring freezes; similar clarity in the United States and Asia would unlock global head-count plans.”

“Second comes enterprise-grade performance: Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade cut typical layer-2 fees by more than 95%, signaling that blockchains can now handle corporate traffic at an acceptable cost,” he added.

While blockchain-based jobs are poised for growth, “AI will naturally garner more talent in the next decade,” Jawad Ashraf, CEO of Vanar Chain, told Cointelegraph.

“This is because AI’s market integration has been faster than any other modern technology we can remember,” he said. “If you look at blockchain, we’re still very much focused on integrating with TradFi and broader Web3 markets like gaming, real-world tokenization, etc.”

He added: “Blockchain still hasn’t penetrated the more conventional consumer-oriented markets. It will, in the near future, but we are not there yet.”

Blockchain and AI are not competing for talent

“AI and blockchain aren’t competing for talent; they’re working together to create new opportunities,” Yakov Lebedev, chief business development officer at 3Commas, a trading automation solution, told Cointelegraph.

Combining the two technologies enables “sophisticated financial tools accessible for everyone, not just big institutions, he said, adding:

“Companies are paying top dollar for professionals who understand both AI and blockchain, recognizing the value of this cross-domain expertise.”

Lebedev added that the integration of blockchain with AI is driving steady job growth in both fields, as financial and tech firms move integrated solutions from pilot programs into core operations.

Thanks to the synergistic benefits of the two technologies, blockchain job growth may start mirroring the AI industry, according to Adi Ben-Ari, founder and CEO at Applied Blockchain, an AI-powered blockchain development firm.

AI technology is “probabilistic and introduces uncertainty,” which creates more demand for blockchain and cryptographic technologies, he told Cointelegraph.

“AI produces outcomes that are not always accurate, can be fake, and can sometimes be incorrect,” he said. “This new uncertainty needs to be countered by a technology that brings absolute certainty, and this is where blockchain and cryptography come in.”

Ben-Ari added that blockchain’s ability to secure sensitive information through cryptography would become increasingly important as AI consumes larger amounts of personal data.

AI agents are already using cryptocurrency for autonomous transactions. On Dec. 16, 2024, Luna, an AI agent on Virtuals Protocol, paid another AI agent from STIX Protocol, in exchange for its image generation services — sending $1.77 worth of Virtual (VIRTUAL) tokens, onchain data shows.

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Politics

FBOT registry won’t bring offshore crypto exchanges to the US — Attorney

Published

16 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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<div>FBOT registry won't bring offshore crypto exchanges to the US — Attorney</div>

The Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT) framework is designed for the legacy financial system and is a poor fit for cryptocurrency exchanges.

Politics

‘Scam of all scams’: Crypto dev claims Trump-linked WLFI ‘stole’ his money

Published

23 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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‘Scam of all scams’: Crypto dev claims Trump-linked WLFI ‘stole’ his money

A crypto developer says Trump-linked crypto project WLFI froze his tokens and refused to unlock them, calling it “the new age mafia.”

Politics

Farage confirms he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to Taliban in Afghanistan

Published

23 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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Farage confirms he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to Taliban in Afghanistan

Nigel Farage has confirmed he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to the Taliban in Afghanistan if he becomes prime minister.

The Reform UK leader’s position on the topic has not been clear, with him previously saying he would send women back to the fundamentalist regime that took over after western militaries withdrew, before now saying he would.

Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.

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When asked if he would “detain” women and children and “send them back”, the Clacton MP said “yes”.

Challenged on when he said in August that he was not “discussing” women and children, Mr Farage claimed this was a reference to his desire to seeing men detained on arrival in the UK.

At the time he said he was “very, very clear” on the “deportation of illegal immigrants”, adding: “We are not even discussing women and children at this stage – there are so many illegal males in Britain, and the news reports that said that after my conference yesterday were wrong”

Speaking today, Mr Farage claimed that the UK has a “duty of care” if a four-year-old arrives in a dinghy, for example – but not so for women and men.

“For clarity, those that cross the English Channel will be detained and deported, men and women,” Mr Farage went on.

“Children, we’ll have to think about.”

The Reform leader also rowed back on his pledge to stop all boats within two weeks if he is elected prime minister.

Speaking to the conference yesterday, Mr Farage said: “You cannot come here illegally and stay – we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”

But speaking to Beth Rigby today, he changed tack – saying “the passing of legislation” would be required.

He said the boats would then be stopped within two weeks, or sooner.

In the interview with Rigby, Mr Farage tried to claim he did not say he would end the boats within two weeks of “winning government”.

But the video of his speech, as well as the transcript released by Reform UK, clearly show him saying: “We will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”

When asked why he wouldn’t be able to stop the boats within two weeks of winning government, Mr Farage said it was impossible and “no one” can prevent them crossing the Channel.

The Reform UK leader said the law he wants to introduce will be called the Illegal Migration Act once it is passed by parliament.

He confirmed his agenda includes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, shutting down asylum hotels and housing people at RAF bases instead, as well as deporting Channel migrants.

Mr Farage also claimed that deportation flights would also begin within two weeks of the law changing, and this combination of factors would stop people from wanting to travel from France.

This strategy all depends on Reform UK winning the next general election – which Labour does not have to call until 2029.

However, Mr Farage says he believes the government will collapse in 2027 due to economic pressure and other factors.

Reform are currently well clear of Labour and the Conservatives in the polling, and are targeting next year’s Welsh, Scottish and English local election to try and win more power in councils and national assemblies.