I quit my job to work in crypto, then the market crashed

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Last year, as crypto prices approached all-time highs, VICE spoke to a few people who had recently started working in the forward-thinking field known as web3. There was an Uber product designer who left to work at a hot NFT startup, the co-founder of a buzzing crypto community, and several others. They sprang from artist empowerment, collective ownership and unique creative structures. Today, however, it seems that most of the headlines in crypto are about hacking and fraud. What do those jobs look like now, assuming they still exist?

Turns out most of the people we spoke to are still working in or near crypto. Some have lost money or traded projects, but few — especially those drawn to crypto for the philosophical or technical potential they see in it — seem to have any regrets.

“Last year there were a lot more fraternity guys working in banking or private equity than in really clear system builders.” —Chris

A year ago, Raihan Anwar was working at Friends With Benefits, a DAO the New York Times once called “the VIP lounge for the crypto creative class.” He has since added a new role as Community Director at Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL), a part of FOX Entertainment that explores blockchain-based licensing, fan experiences, and other ways the studio system traditional can interact and experiment with the web3. “It’s super interesting because you have this big creative incumbent in the space, with their existing infrastructure games for art, animation, film, creative, etc., and they’re ready to experiment and see how the technology works,” he said.

According to Raihan, tech social bubbles fueled much of the hype last year, where people had little outside perspective. Since prices have crashed and lofty ideas about blockchain-enabled social coordination have yet to materialize, crypto’s most ardent proponents have had to return to Earth. “People who used to say the word ‘without confidence’ all the other sentences may now be [saying it] every other paragraph,” he said. “Trust is people. You can’t “smartly contract” your way out of liars, cheaters, and scammers. »

Still, Raihan is enthusiastic about creative projects taking advantage of the bear market. Cheaper prices mean interacting with the blockchain is also cheaper, whether you’re a user playing with new apps or a developer pushing the boundaries of technology. “A lot of tech talent that’s entered the space in the last year or year and a half has come and stayed because it’s such an interesting experience and experience to have,” he said. he declares.

Danny Cole, a visual artist known for his imaginative and colorful style, launched Creature World in August 2021. The potential for “new creative structures” drew him to web3, and his NFT collection was an almost instant success. “When I entered Web3, the idea of ​​’what is an NFT’ was very undefined,” he said. “The answer was ‘whatever I’m about to do’, and that was very exciting for me.”

Although he has seen some of his works drop in price over the past year, his feelings about crypto changed long before the recent downturn. “This question of ‘what is an NFT’ has been answered by ‘an NFT is a vehicle for financial speculation, and a vehicle on which you can create new financial incentive tools,'” he said. he continued. “That was not where my interest lay.” As such, things like the recent collapse of the FTX exchange and the arrest of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, have not changed his belief in the potential cultural value of NFTs. “No part of a random guy in finance who may have committed fraud or something tells me there’s no future in which people will cherish digital products.”

“No part of a random guy in finance who may have committed fraud or something tells me there’s no future in which people will cherish digital products.” —Danny Cole

Lily Nguyen, product designer at bustling NFT marketplace Zora, told VICE last year that she felt like a “rat on cocaine working in this space because there’s so much going on. “. The bear market allowed him to focus. “There are fewer fires to put out and fewer distractions,” she said. “There are still users who use our product and ask us for things, but there are a lot less ‘something is broken, I will [fix it] Saturday evening’ or hiking meetings at 11 p.m..”

Lily encouraged her family to buy Ethereum last year, and she said her parents sold it before prices crashed and funded a vacation with the profits. “My parents are smarter than me,” she said, noting that she lost a lot of money in the drop in value of her NFTs. However, she has few regrets. “I feel like at the end of the day a lot of that money was pretty well spent. [because] it went to artists that I really respect.

We also spoke with Chris*, a software engineer who asked not to be identified by his real name. He worked in crypto for two years before resigning in early 2021, after becoming skeptical of general claims about financial inclusion in the industry and sensing the bubble might burst soon. “I guess I feel vindicated,” he said. According to him, price fluctuations stem from the extreme concentration of wealth intrinsic to the current ecosystem. “Much of the volatility and liquidity comes from some 2015 whales swinging their dicks.”

Like Raihan, Chris noted that crypto bear cycles tend to attract people drawn to interesting technical issues. “Last year there were a lot more fraternity guys working in banking or private equity, compared to really clear system builders,” he said. “People who were there for the money rather than just like, ‘Oh, this stuff is really cool’.” without revealing all the data necessary for its manufacture, as well as other applications related to privacy and security. “The biggest lesson for me is the importance of understanding why you do the things you do for yourself, rather than trying to update your worldview based on what others believe.”

Most people we spoke to shared this sentiment that bear markets test people’s belief in their professed values. This fall, the broader economic downturn has affected much of the tech industry beyond crypto, with the recent massive layoffs at Meta and Amazon, among others, and given her other options, Lily seemed content. “It’s a smarter career move to gravitate towards something that personally gives me purpose rather than pursuing something that may be in high demand right now but could experience a down cycle in the future,” said she declared. “I don’t think anything worth building is a safe bet.”

Ultimately, Lily said she was always driven by the idea of ​​”building a better internet”, especially one “more equitable for creators”. It was the same principle that inspired her to get into crypto and, even allowing for doubts about crypto’s potential for positive social impact or widespread adoption, it may be too much. early to give up hope. “I think there’s a chance that crypto has something to do with [that goal]. Is it the magic bullet? Probably not, but will I at least try to make an impression? Yes.”

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