Banking giant Capital One advertises for data scientist with bitcoin knowledge

Banking technology is changing at a never-before-seen pace, and it’s hardly surprising for a massive bank holding company like Capital One to advertise a position for a data scientist focused on emerging technologies. Even a company with over $286 billion in assets needs to keep on top of the trends, after all. What may be somewhat surprising, however, is bitcoin’s appearance in the job description.

To be clear, Capital One isn’t exactly hiring a bitcoin-dedicated specialist. In the “On any given day in the Lab you’ll be” section of the job description, the bank included a single line of text about investigating new technologies relevant to banking. Google Glass, iBeacons, smart watches and other innovations were mentioned alongside bitcoin as part of the “future of mobile banking and the financial world of tomorrow.”

The job posting does hint, however, that Capital One understands that major changes are coming in the near future for the banking sector. Bitcoin is clearly on the company’s radar, although it seems to see cryptocurrency as more a novelty than an industry-changing force.

Then again, the mere mention of bitcoin in this job description could signal a thawing of Capital One’s icy attitude on bitcoin. Capital One has been widely seen as one of the least bitcoin-friendly banking companies in the U.S., notably closing the account of silver medallion maker Mulligan Mint after the company began producing a bitcoin collectable last year. By hiring an expert to investigate digital currency, this may suggest a shift towards a more neutral policy.