By Andrea Hargraves 
The country is asserting itself in the world of digital currencies and is attracting more and more companies and professionals, both national and foreign, to this sector.
Five Portuguese people talk about how they live their daily work in the digital world of the internet of the future, based on the blockchain (distributed digital recording) technology associated with cryptocurrencies. They are about 30 years old, have unlimited vacations and work mostly remotely. Some alternate their residence between two cities in different countries. They are professionals who have found their perfect job in this industry, in a country, Portugal, that welcomes them with open arms. They work for ConsenSys, a company associated with the Ethereum platform, whose digital currency, ether, is the second most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, after Bitcoin.
Pedro Figueiredo: “Welcome to Portugal”
Pedro Figueiredo is 32 years old, born and lives in Porto and graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad Nova de Lisbon. He discovered cryptocurrency — and the Ethereum platform — in 2017. “Also that year I heard about ConsenSys, and decided that I would work here one day. In terms of creating a community of crypto-related professionals, Portugal had a smart and welcoming attitude, and it paid off,” he said. This is professional, emphasizing ‘We have [Portugal] Foreign talents were attracted and many large companies began to settle in Portugal, recognizing our origins.”
Ricardo Silva: “It’s hard to explain what we’re doing”
He is 34 years old and lives in Braga, but he is from Venezuela. A graduate of Computer Engineering from Minho University, he entered the cryptocurrency world professionally in 2017. Like his colleagues, he has unlimited vacations, “and sometimes people tend to take less money.” “In order to avoid instances of burnout, I always try to maintain an average of 25 days a year,” he says. “However, this year it was higher due to the introduction of zero productivity days, where we cannot work. [quinta-feira], one of those days precedes Christmas Eve, “he explains. And is it easy to explain to friends and family what you do at work?” It’s always hard to explain. The first thing is to avoid talking about currency rates, because it takes the conversation to an endless side,” he admits.
Tanya Symonds-Rosa: “Between Lagos and New York”
She is 34 years old Portuguese, but born and educated in England (politics and philosophy at the University of Sussex) and lives between Lagos and New York. His first job in the blockchain-based industry was at ConsenSys. “I’ve never worked in technology, but I had occasional skills,” he explains. “Because my business is being developed remotely, I travel a lot and currently split my time between Mexico, New York and Lagos in Portugal,” he notes. The company allows for flexibility in the schedule, such as taking a midweek break or taking a morning. “As long as we stick to the proposed work and set deadlines, we can set our own hours.”
Andre Pimenta: “Many companies are far from 100%”
He graduated in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and at the age of 30 leads the MetaMask area, a crypto-negotiation and management app. André Pimenta stresses that there are some factors that distinguish blockchain companies in terms of salaries paid: “Many of these companies not only work with decentralized technologies, but also their own mentality and the way the business is run is more decentralized, that is, the strength and value created by the company is greatly transformed. to the workers.” For the Portuguese, “the truth is that many of these companies are far and 100% global” and “many of them are based on American values, which makes the salary even more attractive.”
Gonçalo Sá: “Injection of foreign talent”
Born in Porto, Gonçalo Sá is not yet 30 years old and is responsible for the cybersecurity of this important group in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. He holds a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, and at the age of 29 lives between Invicta and Barcelona. He says that in Portugal, in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector, “we have a community that is growing increasingly visible and vibrant.” He emphasized that “the infusion of foreign talent attracted by the favorable legal conditions for cryptocurrency was also a welcome breath of fresh air.” “Now, we not only have the distinguished Portuguese who contribute to the global blockchain landscape, but the eminent personalities of this world are moving here and pushing our national innovators even further.”