Crypto c suits have had some high-profile departures, but trends show an evolving industry

Despite some high-profile departures in crypto, executive turnover there is not much different from other industries, according to data from an international executive search firm.

The big picture: Where some former leaders are moving forward, however, represents how the crypto industry has evolved, with rich opportunities in Washington and in more historically traditional sectors.

What they say: “We felt anecdotally that there was a lot of turnover in crypto, but the data doesn’t necessarily say that,” David Richardson, partner at Heidrick & Struggles, told Axios.

• “There is no statistically significant difference – executive turnover is high across a range of industries.”
• In that way, the “flow of talent” is a “better market indicator than the price of tokens,” Richardson says. That is, the crypto industry is no more or less on the ropes than comparable sectors.

In-game status: “Some [crypto executives] came from technology companies and financial institutions and may not stick through [crypto] winter, but many more will stay in the ecosystem than leave, says Richardson.

• That ecosystem is now expanding beyond native crypto.
• “[That’s] another big change since 2018 — There were few traditional financial firms that had a crypto offering, and now you have a whole bunch,” says Richardson.
• These teams tend to be playing catch-up on digital asset initiatives at the corporate level, and these executives tend to have more of a crypto background than someone in traditional finance, he adds.

Context: BNY Mellon, for example, uses software developed with Fireblocks to provide custody services, while State Street partnered with Copper pending regulatory approval to do the same.

• Other executives will likely come back to work as investors, or go to DC and be industry advocates, he says.

Zoom out: “What’s definitely unique in crypto is that we haven’t seen this level of financial success in a compressed amount of time since the dot-com boom,” Richardson says.

• “Whereas in other industries you see people retiring or going back [company] boards, you see crypto “pre-tirements”.

The bottom line: “Founders and managers who are still young, not ready to retire, but who have asked and worked intensely for four years in a row and who were incredibly successful, think they deserve a break,” he says.