Over the previous fortnight, Kraken has posted roughly 50 Cyprus-linked vacancies on LinkedIn, signalling that the European playbook of the American crypto trade is shifting to execution.
The hiring blitz follows Kraken’s 2025 buy of CFD dealer Greenfield Wealth, a deal that delivered a Cyprus Funding Agency (CIF) licence and, with it, a passport into Europe’s MiFID regime, in addition to securing a MiCA license in the identical yr.
Senior Roles Dominate, with a Concentrate on Engineering
A more in-depth look beneath the bonnet reveals that roughly 70% of the vacancies goal senior or managerial expertise. The Regulatory MiFID Officer function stands out, alongside heavyweight hires such because the World Head of Center Workplace and a Senior AI/ML Engineer.
Whereas pay just isn’t said within the listings, the top-heavy combine would require important funding.
In line with web3.profession, a crypto and blockchain job board, the common yearly wage of a authorized professional within the area is US$170,000, whereas senior positions in AI/ML engineering can fetch salaries between US$146,000 and US$277,000.
The biggest share of vacancies – practically half – sits in software program engineering and technical capabilities, so product and platform improvement look like priorities.
Product and design roles kind the following tier, adopted by compliance, authorized and danger. Operations, finance and advertising roles are current however much less distinguished.
Parts of the hiring combine seem in keeping with constructing out the MiFID license, whereas others, significantly engineering roles, probably help the trade’s broader platform.
The Traces Between Exchanges and CFD Brokers Are Evolving
A rising refrain of crypto exchanges has moved to amass MiFID licences. In 2025 alone, Coinbase purchased the Cyprus unit of BUX, which had provided CFDs beneath the Stryk model, whereas Crypto.com bought AllNew Funding, the operator of LegacyFX, one other CFD supplier.
The calculation is simple: MiFID opens the door to derivatives – futures, choices and probably CFDs – whereas the EU’s MiCA framework is targeted totally on spot buying and selling and custody.
As Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief government of Crypto.com, mentioned on the time, securing MiFID alongside MiCA “additional solidifies” the trade’s potential to supply a complete regulated product suite throughout the European Financial Space.
Kraken, although, seems to be among the many first of this cohort to embark on a hiring push of this breadth.
On the identical time, established brokers are rolling out spot crypto, typically by way of white-label options. Pepperstone, which constructed its personal crypto trade internally, just lately joined the development by providing bodily crypto to its Australian purchasers.
For Pepperstone’s Group CEO Tamas Szabo, whereas the strains between brokers and exchanges are evolving, “consumer priorities stay fixed: price, execution high quality, belief and, more and more, consumer expertise.”
This text was written by Adonis Adoni at www.financemagnates.com.