Announcing Germany As A Regional Talent Hub
TLDR: Building on the firm’s existing operating structure and setting the business up for success across the European region, we are pleased to announce that Germany is to become a Talent hub, as we seek to expand our product and service offering across Europe. This announcement is another move in Phase II of Coinbase’s ‘Go Broad, Go Deep’ international market strategy, and over the next two weeks we will be undertaking a tour in key ‘go deep’ markets across the European Union, with a series of operational and people announcements in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.
We are delighted to announce that Germany will become a Regional Talent Hub, marking another key milestone in our international expansion strategy.
In 2021, Coinbase became the first crypto company to receive a crypto license from BaFin. This license, for crypto custody and trading, was established under a new licensing regime introduced by BaFin in January 2020, and was the first of its kind in the European Union. It’s safe to say, Germany was quick off the mark in recognising the economic potential Web3 could bring domestically.
Since then, our German operation has grown from strength to strength, and over the last 12 months, has been our fastest growing office, more than doubling in headcount. As a regional talent hub, our Germany operation will become integral in helping source and develop local crypto talent. As we expand across the region, it is crucial to have the right talent available to localise our product offering.
“Since entering the market, we’ve been impressed by the regulatory clarity, as well as Germany’s commitment to tech innovation and the vibrant Web3 ecosystem. Its deep developer talent pool, as illustrated at our recent BASE meet-up during Berlin Blockchain Week, is a particularly exciting prospect, as we look to expand our products and services across the region,” said Daniel Seifert, Vice President and Regional Managing Director, EMEA at Coinbase.
Establishing Germany as a talent hub builds on Coinbase’s current operating model and positions us strongly for success in this key international market. With over 6% of Germany’s 83 million population (the largest EU member state) invested in cryptocurrency, the opportunity is great. So far this year, its blockchain sector has attracted a total of $355 million in venture capital funding, in addition to 2.4% of global blockchain funding and 2.5% of global deals. This compares with 2022’s figures of 0.9% in global funding and 1.9% in global deals. Overall Germany accounts for 10.3% of all European blockchain deals.*
“Due to the ongoing migration of Web3 firms from the US, the European share of talented developers is increasing, establishing the region as a leader in Web3. Germany is our second largest international market, and the talent available in the country is super exciting. It’s a natural choice for our regional talent hub,” said Nana Murugesan, Vice President of International and Business Development at Coinbase.
In further Phase II moves, over the next two weeks we will be rolling out a series of operational and people announcements across key European ‘go deep’ markets, including Ireland, Benelux and Nordics, Spain and Italy.
Watch this space!
International
About Nana Murugesan
Nana Murugesan is the Vice President of International and Business Development at Coinbase where he leads the company’s international operations and global partnerships. Previously, he was the Managing Director of International Markets at Snap Inc. where he led Snapchat’s international expansion and strategic partnerships.
Earlier in his career, Nana was the Vice President and General Manager at Samsung, where he served in a number of strategy, partnerships, and operations roles to launch and grow their Galaxy smartphone and services business, notably Samsung Pay. He also held product roles at Cisco and strategy consulting roles at BCG.
Nana received his BE in Engineering from the University of Madras, MS in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Recent Stories
