Major Banks Hiring Crypto Talent
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and SoFi are expanding blockchain and crypto teams, building out custody, trading, stablecoins, and tokenization infrastructure. This represents "the biggest institutional adoption push since 2021" as banks actively build crypto divisions regardless of regulatory clarity.
The push for crypto talent extends beyond trading desks, with a strong focus on tokenization of real-world assets. Goldman Sachs, for instance, is spinning out its private blockchain platform, GS DAP, to create an industry-wide distributed ledger for things like money market funds. This move aims to enhance collateral mobility and create new market infrastructure. Morgan Stanley is taking a multi-phased approach to its digital asset expansion. In February 2026, the firm applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national digital asset trust, which would offer custody, trading, and staking services under federal oversight. This follows a strategy of initially offering bitcoin trading through its E*Trade platform to gauge retail demand before building out its own in-house infrastructure. Fintech-oriented banks are also making significant moves. SoFi, which had previously exited the crypto space as a condition of its national bank charter, re-entered the market in 2025. The company now allows members to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies directly within its banking app and has plans to introduce a USD stablecoin and crypto-backed borrowing. Across the Atlantic, Barclays is actively exploring the use of blockchain for digital payments, with a focus on stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The British banking giant has been requesting information from technology providers with the aim of selecting a partner to develop new products for its diverse customer base. This follows the bank's January 2026 investment in stablecoin-settlement company Ubyx. This wave of institutional adoption is happening amid a shifting regulatory landscape. Frameworks like the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union are providing clearer rules for the industry. In the U.S., while a comprehensive federal framework is still developing, actions by the OCC and proposed legislation are seen as creating a more permissive environment for banks to engage with digital assets. The demand for talent reflects these new priorities. Hiring for crypto-related roles has seen a significant uptick, with a particular surge in demand for legal, compliance, and recruiting professionals as firms navigate evolving regulations and expand their teams. There is also a high demand for engineers with specialized skills in smart contracts and zero-knowledge proofs.
