Smart Contract Jobs at Coindesk

CoinDesk seeks a talented journalist to cover the fast-moving decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, its influence on financial markets, and its impact on blockchain technology.

DeFi has been positioned by its boosters as a way to rip power away from governments and financial institutions. Just as it has captured the imaginations of libertarians and crypto-anarchists, crypto’s Wild West has captured billions of dollars in investments from traditional financial firms and retail traders.

This dichotomy – between ideologues, institutions, and casual investors – makes DeFi one of the most fascinating beats in all of business and technology.

Covering DeFi is unlike covering traditional financial markets. It involves digging deep into Discord groups and Reddit forums where “degens,” traditional investors, and anonymous influencers are all anxious carve out a place in the economy of the future. Crypto Twitter is full of new memes, new feuds, and new controversies each day as passionate founders and investors pitch out their unique visions for the future of money.

Far from a side-show, this growing corner of the crypto industry has grown into a major force in the broader economy. For instance, when Terra’s $40 billion DeFi ecosystem crashed and seized headlines across the world, CoinDesk reporters were already sounding alarm bells, and they followed up with scoops that were cited by – and shaped narratives across – most major media outlets.

Beneath the billion-dollar schemes, scams and hacks are technological advancements which are radically transforming our world. Questions abound in DeFi: Is it possible to peg “decentralized” money to the price of a dollar? How can blockchain developers fend against multi-million dollar attacks? Is decentralized finance all just a ponzi scheme? Should DeFi founders be allowed to remain anonymous?

As the reporters breaking news in this growing sector of the new economy, CoinDesk plays a pivotal role in translating events for a mainstream audience. Covering DeFi at CoinDesk means keeping up with all the fireworks and controversy while distilling its more technical aspects down for our millions of readers.

DeFi is a rapidly evolving space, and a candidate for this role needn’t be an expert yet. They should, however, have a base-level understanding of blockchain technology and financial markets. Candidates should also be interested in developing a much deeper understanding of these topics on the job.

Example stories:

• Olympus DAO Might Be the Future of Money (or It Might Be a Ponzi)
• US Officials Tie North Korea’s ‘Lazarus’ Hackers to $625M Crypto Theft
• Typo Moves $36M in Seized JUNO Tokens to Wrong Wallet
• Crypto Carbon: Can Blockchain Networks Fix Carbon Offsets?

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Writing a story a day on average, ranging from high-value, high-signal breaking news hits to long-form, in-depth investigations that may take days or weeks to research.
• Contextualizing the news, explaining to readers not only who/what/when/where but why. The “why” typically matters more than the “what.”
• Interviewing executives and technologists in finance, media, culture, cryptocurrency, blockchain and related fields.
• Consulting on-chain data and working with experts to understand hacks, DeFi protocols, and market events.
• Covering and representing CoinDesk at industry conferences and events.
• Contributing across CoinDesk newsletters, podcasts, TV and on outside media.

ABOUT YOU:

• A nose for news
• 1-2 years’ journalism experience or equivalent experience working in crypto
• Insatiable intellectual curiosity
• Ability to write clear, lively and elegant copy on tight deadlines

NICE TO HAVE:

• Programming/smart contract development experience
• Experience using DeFi protocols (Aave, Uniswap, Sushi, etc.)
• Contacts across emerging crypto tech, business, finance, and journalism