In recent months, an increasing number of engineers and developers announced that they are leaving established Silicon Valley tech companies in search for new opportunities in the world of blockchain and crypto.
Firms like Facebook, Apple, Google, Netflix, and Amazon are all viewed as target companies for most engineers. However, even these giants are rapidly losing their best developers to the growing blockchain industry.
Engineers’ Fascination with Blockchain Technology
A lot of these technicians, such as Facebook’s former engineer Maximilian Wang, or Qi Zhou, who worked at both, Facebook and Google, have left these firms to pursue the blockchain. They were among those who discovered blockchain technology relatively early, meaning prior to the explosion of cryptocurrency in 2017. Ever since then, they were fascinated by it, and they quickly became investors into crypto.
Despite the fact that this was only a little over a year ago, blockchain and cryptocurrency were still far from being as well-known as they are today. Because of that, even the most optimistic investors had doubts, but also strong faith in the new tech. After the crypto craze kicked off, numerous investors such as Preethi Kasireddy decided to leave their former positions and try their luck in the blockchain world.
While this was undoubtedly a big risk to take, they believed that it was worth taking. The blockchain world greeted them with open arms. Not only are engineers coming from big companies highly skilled and sought after in the crypto and blockchain industries, but their background also brings new credibility to these projects.
It is known how difficult it can be to get a good position in firms like Google, Facebook, or Amazon. And when someone from those position leaves for a specific blockchain project, that is a big nod to this project’s quality and potential. Furthermore, a lot of engineers in these companies are young people, in their late 20’s or early 30’s, which allows them to quickly understand and accept new concepts.
Why Crypto and Blockchain Won’t Work Within Large Firms
A lot of these engineers are not leaving tech firms for blockchain and crypto in their desire to earn better. Instead, they are leaving simply due to their belief in this technology, and its potential to take over traditional methods at some point in the future. They wish to help this technology reach that point. However, they cannot hope to work on the blockchain within the large companies.
Some firms like Facebook have developed an interest in the blockchain, and have even launched teams that will research this technology. However, due to the fact that Facebook is a large, well-established company, it has far more restrictions than startups that are free to shape themselves however they like. Another large issue comes from ICOs. If Facebook were to launch an ICO, this would be a very sensitive project. It would have to be responsible to the shareholders, it would need good reasons for the move, and it would have to find a way to implement digital coins into its existing business model.
These difficulties will likely prevent large firms from reaching out to blockchain and crypto in the near future. However, engineers and developers still believe that this technology is the future, and they are willing to risk their careers at the largest tech companies in order to help that future arrive sooner.