Incoming Web3 CFOs Say They’re Overwhelmed by Steep Learning Curve

More than 99% of Web3 CFOs said their organizations did not have formal onboarding processes, report finds

article-image

Blockworks Exclusive Art by Axel Rangel

share

It’s not always easy for longtime chief financial officers from traditional sectors to make the jump to Web3. 

The vast majority lack internal support when it comes to necessary crypto education, according to a report published Monday by Request Finance. 

Request Finance, which offers invoicing, payroll and related financial tools to Web3 clients, found from survey respondents that two-thirds of chief financial officers in Web3 have more than three years of experience in a finance or accounting role.

But 63% of those executives cited gaps in their knowledge of crypto, DeFi or other blockchain technologies as one of the biggest handicaps when they first started. The company spoke to about 250 financial and operational heads of Web3 companies, such as Ledger and Superfluid

More than 99% said they did not have formal on-boarding processes upon their transition from traditional sectors to crypto roles. 

Unnamed executives quoted in the report said they relied on self-teaching and “years of nail-biting trial and error”

Respondents specifically cited the difficulty in keeping up with the rapid pace of new crypto technology and applications, such as layer-1s, layer-2s and zero-knowledge proofs. Trying to understand and incorporate new decentralized applications into their workflows has been another big challenge.

“Working full time in crypto means 9-12”, said Simon Ho, chief operating officer of Australian crypto exchange Coinstash, in a statement. “There’s just so much to learn.”

Reacting to industry collapses

Some industry watchers predict a shift toward self-custody following the collapse of centralized crypto lenders and exchanges.

Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July, and crypto exchange FTX did the same last month following its insolvency. 

After FTX’s crash, crypto storage wallet Arculus said it has seen a sales boost amid the recent heightened volatility, but declined to detail specific figures. Digital assets access provider Wellfield Capital said it expects its revenues to rise as markets shift away from centralized exchanges — toward decentralized services and self-custody.

About 97.5% of Web3 CFOs indicated that more than half their organization’s digital assets and crypto treasury are held in self-custody today, according to the Request Finance report.

Most executives have already been practicing self-custody, with only about 27% indicating that recent implosions of crypto platforms led to such a shift.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

An overview of the Base Ecosystem, with a focus on market leaders.

article-image

Although bitcoin hitting $120k by year’s end is looking unlikely

article-image

About 270 million HYPE has been claimed, valued around $7.6 billion

article-image

Stanford professors David Mazières and Dan Boneh will lead the lab alongside a cohort of graduate student researchers

article-image

With more companies holding BTC, bitcoin yielding strategies could become “a new corporate finance norm,” CoinShares posed

article-image

The proposal comes after Polygon governance considered a controversial use of bridged liquidity for yield

article-image

Can the community balance its decentralized ethos with the need for inclusivity and constructive debate?