Anja watched skilled bitcoiners drowning in crypto noise, resumes vanishing into HR black holes while startups starved for talent. That disconnect ignited Bitvocation: a rebellion against professional purgatory where orange-pilled builders couldn’t find each other.
Eighteen months later, Bitvocation has morphed into a full-spectrum career arsenal: CV Doctors slay ATS filters, POW Labs forge conviction-first talent, and data reports map bitcoin’s exploding job frontier. This is the story of ending bitcoin’s “digital serfdom” – one hire at a time.
The Genesis of Bitvocation
- What pain point about bitcoin work sparked Bitvocation?
I’ve been a bitcoiner for nearly a decade, but for most of that time, I was just passively consuming bitcoin twitter. 
In 2023, that changed. After a detour in “Crypto” and working for Web3 startups, I made a deliberate decision to connect with the bitcoin community. I went to BTC Prague with one goal: to figure out how I could be of service to bitcoiners.
At the conference I met many bitcoiners who desperately wanted to work in bitcoin, but didn’t know where to even start. The jobs were out there, but hard to find in a sea of crypto noise.
So I realized that’s how I could be of service: I’m going to make Bitcoin job listings more VISIBLE, and help bitcoiners become more FINDABLE. That’s how Bitvocation was born.
Everything started with the Bitvocationfeed on Telegram. Jobseekers simply subscribe and they’ll get alerted about new bitcoin job listings several times a day. Pure signal.
At the same time this feed serves bitcoin startups by getting their listings in front of the exact audience they’re trying to reach: committed Bitcoiners.
In the meantime we have added many more tools and services and thanks to all the job data we scrape, we also publish regular Bitcoin Job Market Data reports.
Bitvocation is not a recruitment agency. We don’t do headhunting. But we are on a mission to build the largest high-quality talent pool of bitcoiners to serve startups in our ecosystem, as well as a resource platform related to all things “working in bitcoin”. We’re preparing for hyperbitcoinization.
- Does bitcoin need traditional business roles (HR, marketing) to scale… or is that hearsay?
Bitcoin doesn’t need traditional anything — but bitcoin companies still need people.
You’ll find plenty of the same roles — HR, marketing, ops — because at the end of the day, we’re still organizing humans to build things. But the mindset is different. Bitcoin tends to attract people who roll up their sleeves and contribute. They don’t wait for permission or until someone tells them what to do.
95% of companies in bitcoin are startups. Roles are fluid. Hierarchies are flat. People tend to wear multiple hats. If someone says, “But this is not in my job description!” they’re in the wrong industry.
We’re also in the middle of a massive transition in how businesses function. New technologies like AI will change our ideas of “work” dramatically. Traditional roles will probably fall apart and be decentralized and fragmented into skills based tasks.
In the same way every person might “decentralize” themselves – we already hear a lot of “fractional CMO’s” etc. We will see more of that. The more tasks we can delegate to AI, the more clients or employers we can serve with the mindspace we free up.
Anja’s Journey
- What’s the toughest challenge you faced and what bitcoin maxim kept you going?
Bitvocation is the toughest challenge I’ve taken on — and also the most rewarding.
I’m not a strategic empire builder. I’m a service person: I saw a need and decided to offer a solution.
It started simple: I just wanted an easier way to find bitcoin jobs. So I created the job feed and thought, let’s see if it catches on. It did — at least based on early subscribers. But soon I realized people needed more than just listings — they needed career guidance, confidence, and community. That’s when I launched the POW Lab.
I never set out to “build a bitcoin marketplace for job seekers and startups.” I just kept responding to the needs I saw. And along the way, I attracted an incredible, small team — one core partner and several temporary contributors who aligned with the mission.
We’re now about 18 months in. Bitvocation is still entirely bootstrapped — aside from small membership contributions from our POW Lab members. We have no full-time staff. We still have day jobs or live lean.
But something has shifted. What started as a passion project is now a mission. We’re getting more intentional. We know the number of bitcoin companies will only grow. They will need bitcoin talent. We’re building the infrastructure to help them find the right people.
What keeps me going? My team. And our POW Lab members. They are our biggest supporters — so they’ll receive our biggest support in return. They believe in the mission. They show up, contribute, and support each other. It is incredibly rewarding to witness this, especially when we get to celebrate someone finding their first job in bitcoin.
- How do you help people enter an industry that requires deep conviction… before they get a job?
We flip the script. Don’t wait to be hired — act like you already are. Start contributing, volunteering, writing, helping. That’s how people get noticed. In bitcoin, your proof-of-work precedes your paycheck.
Also – be a good person. Be a good node in the human bitcoin network. Be someone that people love to hang out with and work with. The more you contribute to others, the more motivated they will be to reciprocate.
- How does Bitvocation handle candidates crushed by rejection in a “WAGMI” culture?
We remind them: rejection doesn’t mean you’re not good enough — it just means the value you bring to the table isn’t visible enough yet.
A big part of the POW Lab is emotional support. It’s OK to vent sometimes.
If you’re getting overlooked, your job isn’t to “apply harder.” Your job is to become unignorable. Keep sharing your proof of work. Keep connecting and building relationships — your bitcoin network is your biggest asset when it comes to job search.
That said, there’s also a technical side to rejection. Many candidates don’t realize their CV might be filtered out automatically by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) before any human ever sees it. That’s why we recently launched our CV Doctor — a tool that helps candidates align their CV to the job and showcase their skills as well as bitcoin conviction clearly.
- What’s the weirdest career confession you’ve heard?
I once met a bitcoiner with a day job at a bank. Every day, he had to give advice he didn’t believe in. With trusted clients, he’d say: “My professional advice is supposed to be X, but my private conviction is Y.” He was close to retirement, so outing himself as a bitcoiner wasn’t an option. Understandable — but painful.
It’s a bit like being a vegetarian in a slaughterhouse. Which, by the way, I’ve also heard.
That person spent eight hours a day on a factory conveyor belt, listening to financial and bitcoin podcasts through their headphones. They retired off bitcoin before turning 30.
It just goes to show — even if you’re in a job you don’t enjoy (or especially if you are), don’t let anything stop you from growing and educating yourself.
The Future of Bitcoin Careers
- What happens when a “distributed” bitcoin company fails at remote culture?
The result would be the same as in any company that fails to build a healthy work environment — disengaged staff, followed by resignations. Remote or not, if people don’t feel connected, supported, or valued, they’ll leave.
The advantage bitcoin companies have is that people aren’t just there for the salary — they’re there for the mission. When you work in bitcoin, you’re already part of the broader bitcoin culture. That shared conviction can carry teams far — but it’s not a substitute for intentional team building. And a toxic boss can still do a lot of damage.
People will always gravitate toward the environments where they feel most aligned. So the goal should always be the same: create a culture people want to be part of — not just a job factory.
- What job title exists only in bitcoin by 2030?
Only in bitcoin? I’m sure we’ll still need orange-pillers in 2030. Even when bitcoin is at $1 million, there will still be plenty of people who’ve never looked at it beyond the price.
I also expect to see more “Director of Bitcoin Strategy” roles at forward-thinking fiat companies — like we’ve already seen at Strategy and MetaPlanet. That should be encouraging for bitcoiners still in fiat jobs: sometimes your most powerful contribution is to be the bitcoiner at your fiat employer until that role emerges within your company.
More broadly, I believe everyone will need to become some kind of AI agent manager. The way most people do their job today likely won’t exist in five years — especially in remote, digital-first roles. AI agents will handle many of the tasks, but someone still needs to manage them: set direction, review output, and ensure alignment. That’s the new meta-skill.
- How can the global bitcoin community support Bitvocation’s mission?
Join us. Build with us. Shape the future of Bitcoin work.
🔸 Looking for a role in Bitcoin?
Join the POW Lab—our inner circle community and growing talent pool for the bitcoin ecosystem. It’s where Bitcoin professionals gather, support each other, and level up.
Want to contribute while exploring the space? Check out BTX – the Bitvocation Talent Exchange, where you can lend your skills on short-term projects and earn reputation and connections.
🔸 Spread the word.
Share our free job feeds and free guide with your friends and followers. It’s zero-cost and high-impact.
🔸 Collaborate with us.
If you’re a Bitcoin employer, we want to hear from you. Participate in our Annual Bitcoin Employer Survey and explore how we can help you connect with aligned, long-term talent.
We also welcome business partners to:
- Sponsor our Bitcoin Job Market Data Reports
- Offer perks to our POW Lab members
- Join us as affiliate partners to reach our wider community
We’re building Bitvocation for the community, with the community.
Our vision? To become the #1 resource platform for all things “working in Bitcoin.” If that resonates—let’s talk.
LINKS:
Bitvocation.com – main website
Bitvocation.substack.com – download free guide, peer stories, BTX
https://t.me/bitvocationfeed – Bitcoin-only job feed
https://linktr.ee/bitvocation – all our important links
Contact Anja
https://www.bitvocation.com/about-bitvocation – form on bottom of page, or
https://bitvocation.substack.com/p/contact
@connecteconomy on X
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjaschuetz/
Mapping the Bitcoin Jobs Universe
- What instantly disqualifies someone from a Bitcoin role (even if they’re skilled)?
A “Web3 portfolio.”
While I can’t speak for every bitcoin founder or hiring manager, generally, if you lead with your experience in DeFi, NFTs, or altcoin projects, you’ll lose a bitcoin maximalist’s interest very quickly.
We all share a past in fiat by default. But crypto is a choice.
And I say that as someone who’s been there. I spent time in the Web3 space too — and came back to bitcoin with even more conviction. It’s not about skills; it’s about signal. Your CV tells a story. And if that story screams “hype cycles,” it’s hard for a bitcoin company to see long-term alignment.
That said, bitcoiners are usually very open to people who’ve “seen the light.” So if you’re transitioning from crypto to bitcoin, lead with your WHY. It’s part of your learning curve. In bitcoin, conviction counts at least as much as credentials.
Education vs. Evangelism
- What false belief about Bitcoin careers do you battle daily? (e.g., “Only devs get hired”)?
That you need to be a developer to work in bitcoin. Not true. We have proven that consistently with our monthly and annual bitcoin job market report. There’s room for storytellers, designers, researchers, analysts, customer support, operations… If you’ve got skills, proof of work, and you understand bitcoin, there’s a place for you.
- What personality trait matters more than technical skills?
Bitcoin conviction. A contributor’s mindset. And low time preference.
Bitcoin companies want people who are in it for the long haul — not just when the number goes up. You need to be someone who can move fast, build efficiently — and still be OK with slow visible progress. Because even if you build the best bitcoin product in the world, user growth might still move at the pace of global awakening and adoption.
Gradually, then suddenly.
