In brief
- A new Coinbase job posting reflects how executive security is big business in crypto.
- Promising applicants should be cool under pressure but not too chummy with the boss.
A new Coinbase want ad is seeking people with some unusual qualifications for the crypto industry, including "remote wilderness first aid" and "tactical driving skills, applied with a chauffeur's approach." The successful candidate should also have positive energy and be able to pivot on the fly.
That's according to a new LinkedIn job posting that says Coinbase is hiring two bodyguards—aka in corporate speak "executive protection specialists"—to help protect the top brass.
The positions, which will pay around $95,000 a year plus equity and benefits, also require the applicant to secure locations for traveling executives while staying calm under pressure. But they can't get too chummy. The posting, which was spotted by the New York Post, says the hire must "maintain clear professional boundaries" and maximize executives' privacy.
The jobs also demand medical training beyond First Aid and "extensive OCONUS operational experience"—military jargon for working outside the United States. Here's an excerpt from the posting:
While some of the language in the job posting could be ripped from an action movie script, the issue of executive security in the crypto world is no joke. Figures like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse, who are worth billions of dollars, have long traveled with bodyguards to protect them from assailants or kidnappers—rare but not unheard of in the crypto world.
Companies like Coinbase also run security exercises where executives are trained to use code words and other tactics in the event they are abducted. In a 2018 interview, a former military figure who served as a top Coinbase security officer said his biggest fear was criminals who knew little about how crypto worked and believed executives could easily turn over large sums of Bitcoin.
It's unclear why the new Coinbase positions call for tactical driving skills or wilderness first aid given that most crypto events take place at plush resorts or hotels.
Coinbase declined to comment on the job posting, including whether the ideal candidate should have the attributes of James Bond, Jack Ryan, or Jason Bourne. A person at the company who declined to speak for attribution would only say he's a fan of Bond actor Roger Moore.