While the global tech industry is reeling from massive layoffs as startup funding declines, the U.K.’s largest unicorn is bucking the trend and going on a hiring spree. Revolut is increasing its workforce by 20%, including in the division of its digital assets, which has continued to grow despite the general market downturn. Business slowed after the Covid-19 pandemics, but Revolut still saw a 30% increase between July 2021 and July 2022.
Revolut, which started as a currency exchange and payments company before expanding into other financial services, will hire new staff in Europe and the U.S. over the next six months, Bloomberg reports. The new hires come when many of the world’s largest startups have laid off thousands of employees or announced a hiring freeze.
So far this year, the company has hired 43 new employees for the division of its digital assets, tripling its headcount from last year. Emil Urmanshin, the general manager of digital assets at the fintech company, says the company will continue to hire, telling Bloomberg that it “sees crypto as a long-term business and remains optimistic about the crypto industry.”
He further explained that digital assets account for 5-10% of the company’s revenue. According to figures released a year ago, the company generated $361 million in revenue in 2020, of which $54 million came from the division of its digital assets. At the time, the company held digital assets on its balance sheet but has since liquidated them.
And while the company’s other financial services hit during the pandemic, the business of its digital assets surged. Urmanshin said the number of U.K. clients trading these assets increased 290% between July 2020 and July 2021. Their trading volume increased by over 800%.