Getting a job in crypto just got easier thanks to US FTC

The US Federal Trade Commission just changed the career trajectories of millions of crypto job seekers. Yesterday, FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan upended decades of US employment rules and regulations by banning non-compete agreements nationwide. Job seekers rejoice.

For the first time in the lives of most working Americans, contracts that ban job-hunting within the same industry are null and void, effective immediately. A stunning 30 million US workers who were subject to non-compete clauses are now free.

Commissioners estimate that the rule change will create 8,500 new businesses, including tens if not hundreds of thousands of brand-new jobs. New business openings in the world’s largest economy could grow a sizeable 2.7% as a result.

Averaged across the entire US population, every working adult should enjoy an extra $524 per year in additional earnings as a result of the FTC’s action.

FTC bans non-compete agreements for crypto workers

The rule change is a landmark event for the crypto industry. During the two years of bear market layoffs during 2022 and 2023, untold thousands of crypto professionals were laid off. Due to non-compete clauses in their prior employment agreements, many were unable to apply to work at similar companies.

ConsenSys, Digital Currency Group, Crypto.com, Kraken, Gemini, and other giant companies laid off thousands of employees. By one estimate, over 29,000 crypto industry professionals lost their jobs by the middle of the two-year bear market.

Now, thanks to an unprecedented nullification of non-compete clauses, almost all US workers may apply to work for direct competitors of their prior employers.

There is a small carve-out in the FTC’s rule change. Existing non-compete agreements for “senior executives — who represent less than 0.75% of workers – can remain in force.” Although signing new non-compete agreements is now illegal, existing non-competes may remain for this upper tier of executives.

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