At the start of the year, Coincheck Inc suffered from a major hack, losing USD 550 million in tokens. The Tokyo-based exchange put one of the single biggest cryptocurrency thefts in history down to a lack of expertise among staff.
With the industry revolving around currency and holding data, it has attracted the attention of hackers. And with exchanges frequently found wanting in cybersecurity measures, there will only be so much that regulatory powers will tolerate. If this shortage of development expertise continues it could have detrimental effects on many businesses.
Demand for blockchain developers inflates salaries
With demand for developers at all-time highs, salaries are seeing a 20 to 30% rise from previous years. With experts in the industry often being aligned with the values of blockchain, there is no haste to assist some of the larger corporations which decentralization sets out to disrupt.
Japan doesn’t seem to be the only country struggling, even if the likes of the UK and US have engineers who can easily transition into this new field. Japan, on the other hand, seems to be stuck in a rut with employees often bound to lifelong careers with companies.
Current methods of dealing with the shortage
Large organizations are looking to invest in the future of their workforce by setting up in-house training centers to quickly bring their employees up to speed on the concepts behind blockchain. At the moment, most have only a basic understanding. Migrating entire systems over to blockchain requires employees to be more astute in the technology to produce more intuitive designs during development.
As they don’t currently possess the necessary skills, many companies have no choice but to outsource work. However, contracting work to blockchain freelancers is an expensive option and will only inhibit the abilities of smaller startups to off the ground. But ideas that can’t hire or afford to hire will be going nowhere.
With competition high and large organizations researching blockchain, the rush is on. Employers who can’t afford to wait for new graduates are now willing to take on employees without degrees. Since online courses and open resources are enough to bring some junior developers up to speed, they are able to complete basic roles within the industry.
Shortage of development expertise
Leading towards the end of Q4 2017, blockchain jobs had doubled from six months prior. From 2016 to 2017, a growth in startups had seen available positions triple, with a general lack of expertise in the industry.
With new startups on the rise and large organizations looking to explore the technology, it is hoped that millennials can rise to the challenge. Cryptocurrencies have already captured their attention, with younger generations often owning some. After being born into a digital age, they have the potential to bring innovation to the industry.
Have you got what it takes to become a blockchain developer?
The post Shortage of Blockchain Developers Causes Industry Issues appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.