Hiring Business Development in Crypto: What Actually Predicts Performance
Last updated: 10 November 2026
Key takeaways
- A network in your exact segment (institutional, exchanges, B2B infrastructure or retail) predicts performance better than general crypto experience.
- Ask for deals the candidate personally led, how long each sales cycle took and who the buyers were, then check them with references.
- In the UK, a cryptoasset promotion made outside the 4 legal routes breaches section 21 of FSMA, a criminal offence.
- VARA's Marketing Regulations apply to domestic and foreign firms alike: marketing of VA activities in or targeting the UAE must come from, or be approved by, a VARA-licensed VASP.
- Red flags: results only from token launches or a bull market, vague "partnerships", and a network that belongs to a previous employer's brand.
Before you make a crypto business development hire, decide which buyers the person must reach. In our experience the strongest predictor is a network in your exact segment: someone who sold custody to banks will not automatically sell a retail app, and a strong exchange-listings lead may have no route into payments companies.
This guide is for founders and commercial leads at crypto, blockchain and fintech companies hiring their first or next BD lead. It covers what to look for, how to check a track record, the legal limits a BD hire must understand, and the red flags.
Segment beats general crypto experience
"Crypto experience" covers very different sales jobs. The buyer, the sales cycle and the proof a buyer needs change completely between segments:
Ask each candidate which of these segments their closed deals came from. A candidate whose network sits in a different segment from yours will need time to build one, and you should price that delay into your plan.
What to ask about deals
Work through two or three deals the candidate personally led, from first contact to signature:
- Who was the buyer? The company type and the job title of the person who signed.
- Who led the deal? The candidate, their manager, or a founder who brought them in late.
- How long was the sales cycle? And what took the time: due diligence, legal, integration, budget.
- What happened after signing? Did the client go live, and did volumes follow?
- What did they lose, and why? Candidates who can explain lost deals usually understand their buyers.
Then check with references. Ask for at least one reference from the buyer side or from the candidate's own deal team, not only from a former manager.
How to assess a crypto business development hire on regulation
A BD hire who does not know where your company may legally sell is a risk to the licence, not only to the pipeline. The rules differ by market, and the candidate does not need to be a lawyer, but they must recognise when to stop and ask compliance.
UK. Since 8 October 2023 there have been 4 routes to legally promoting cryptoassets to UK consumers: communication by an authorised person, approval by an authorised person, communication by a cryptoasset business registered with the FCA under the MLRs, or an exemption in the Financial Promotion Order. A promotion outside these routes breaches section 21 of FSMA, a criminal offence punishable by up to 2 years in prison, a fine, or both. The FCA also states that a firm authorised only under the Electronic Money Regulations or the Payment Services Regulations is not an authorised person for this purpose.
EU. Under MiCA Article 59, a person may not provide crypto-asset services in the EU unless it is authorised as a crypto-asset service provider or is one of the financial entities allowed to provide such services under Article 60. Article 61 exempts services provided at the client's own exclusive initiative. ESMA treats this as an exception to the authorisation requirement, so a BD lead pitching EU clients needs to know your firm's position before the first call. If you are building an EU licence, see Hiring for a MiCA Licence: Roles You Need Before You Apply.
Dubai. VARA's Marketing Regulations apply to all firms, domestic or foreign, licensed or not. Marketing of a VA activity in or targeting the UAE must be carried out by a VASP licensed by VARA for that activity, or on behalf of and approved by such a VASP. Marketing of anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies is prohibited.
In interviews, give the candidate a scenario: a promising lead in a market where your company has no licence. A strong candidate asks compliance before pitching. A weak one says the lead approached them first and moves on. For how compliance and AML roles split this work, see Compliance Officer vs MLRO: Do You Need Both?.
Red flags
- Results from one market cycle only. Deals closed in a rising market, or around a token launch, say little about selling in a flat or falling market.
- Vague "partnerships". Memoranda of understanding and announcements without signed commercial terms or volumes.
- A network tied to a previous brand. Contacts who took meetings because of a famous employer may not take them for you. Ask which relationships the candidate built personally.
- Numbers they cannot explain. If they cannot break a headline figure into clients, deal sizes and timelines, treat it as unverified.
- No questions about your licences. A senior BD candidate should ask where you are licensed before asking about commission.
Hiring BD for a new market
If the BD hire is also your first person in a new country, the job changes: they will shape banking, partnerships and the first local team. That is closer to a country manager role, with its own profile and set-up decisions. See Country Manager for a New Market: How to Hire Before You Launch.
What we recommend
- Write down the segment and the job titles of the buyers before you open the role.
- Shortlist candidates whose closed deals came from that segment.
- Interview on two or three deals in detail and confirm them with references, including one from the buyer side.
- Test regulatory judgement with a scenario in a market where you are not licensed.
- Set the first 90 days around introductions and qualified meetings in your segment, and agree how those will be measured.
The bottom line
A crypto business development hire is a bet on access to a specific group of buyers, so test the network, the deals and the candidate's sense of where your company can legally sell before you test charisma. Hirexel recruits business development and commercial leads for crypto, blockchain and fintech companies, and screens candidates on segment, verified deals and regulatory awareness before you meet them.
Sources
- FCA, Policy Statement PS23/6: Financial promotion rules for cryptoassets: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy/ps23-6.pdf
- FCA, Cryptoasset firms marketing to UK consumers must get ready for financial promotions regime: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/cryptoasset-firms-marketing-uk-consumers-must-get-ready-financial-promotions-regime
- ESMA, MiCA interactive single rulebook, Article 59 (Authorisation): https://www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mica/article-59-authorisation
- ESMA, Opinion on broker models under MiCA (ESMA75-453128700-1048), on Article 61: https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2024-07/ESMA75-453128700-1048_Opinion_on_broker_models.pdf
- VARA, Regulations on the Marketing of Virtual Assets and Related Activities 2024: https://rulebooks.vara.ae/entiresection/337
