Crypto Salaries Drop Across All Roles Despite Bitcoin Rally – Only 10% of Jobs Are Entry-Level
Crypto salaries and token incentives declined throughout almost all roles and areas in 2024 and early 2025 regardless of Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally, in accordance with Dragonfly Capital’s latest compensation report launched on Thursday.
The survey compiled knowledge from 85 corporations and roughly 3,400 worker and candidate datapoints collected in late 2024 and Q1 2025, revealing what researchers referred to as “a down market” with compensation practices “nonetheless comparatively immature in comparison with conventional sectors.”
Entry-Level Workers Hit Hardest as Executive Pay Climbs
Entry-level positions accounted for under 10% of whole roles, with these junior staff bearing the brunt of cuts by decrease salaries and lowered token packages.
Senior and principal-level positions comprised the most important share at 37%, whereas engineering remained the dominant operate, accounting for roughly 67% of whole headcount.
The report discovered that solely significant will increase got here on the govt stage, creating what Dragonfly described as “a barbell impact” most seen throughout product and engineering roles.
International engineering executives out-earned U.S. friends for the primary time, with whole compensation starting from $530,000 to $780,000, pushed by token packages approaching 3%.
Product Management executives posted the very best wage of any function, between $390,000 and $484,000.
However, mid-level roles skilled flat development whereas entry-level positions absorbed the steepest cuts, concentrating features on the prime whereas most of the workforce noticed stagnating or shrinking pay.
The pullback contrasts sharply with earlier hiring booms documented in mid-2025, when crypto job postings surged 60% year-over-year in accordance with CryptoJobs knowledge.
A separate Taurex study from July confirmed the US topping the worldwide checklist with 292 energetic job listings and a median wage of $148,100, whereas the UAE provided the second-highest common at $111,483.
Founder Compensation Surges While Entry-Level Positions Contract
Average founder salaries elevated roughly 37% year-over-year, rising from $144,000 in 2023 to $197,000 in 2024/25.
Seed-stage U.S. founders held the very best fairness possession at 32%, whereas token possession at Seed remained constant throughout geographies at 9%.
At Series A, worldwide founders earned larger salaries at $244,000 in comparison with U.S. founders at $198,000, although U.S. founders held extra tokens at 13% versus 9%.
Bonus utilization declined with firm scale, peaking on the smallest firm sizes of one to 5 staff and early levels, particularly amongst corporations with $5 million to $19.9 million in funding.
CeFi had the very best bonus adoption at 71%, whereas DeFi adoption sat at 50%. Infrastructure, Layer 1, and Layer 2 adoption was decrease between 15% and 30%.
The report discovered hiring momentum was secure or rising for almost all of corporations, with 50% secure and 47% rising.
Engineering-led development with about 78% of groups increasing and only one% chopping.
However, hiring velocity averaged 3.8 weeks, involving about 4 interview steps, with 68% of affords accepted.
Compensation drove 83% of declines, cut up between compensation beneath expectations at 44% and higher competing affords at 39%.
Western Europe remained the dominant worldwide hiring hub, with 84% of Series B by E corporations using folks there.
However, Asia’s presence almost doubled year-over-year, rising from 20% to 41%.
Eastern Europe was utilized by 63% of later-stage corporations, whereas Canada growth was seen in 38% of corporations between Series B and E.
The geographic growth occurred as 81% of corporations adopted global-first hiring methods, recruiting in each the U.S. and internationally.
US-only hiring was just about non-existent at 6%. Work insurance policies remained closely distant, with 54% totally distant, 30% hybrid, 14% remote-first, and solely 2% totally in-office.
Cost-of-living adjustment adoption held regular year-over-year at 35% in 2023 versus 38% in 2024/25.
The common attrition charge stood at 7.8%, spiking at corporations with 21 to 50 full-time staff at 9.2% and climbing to 10.6% at 100-plus staff.
International corporations achieved stronger retention at 6.0% versus 8.9% for U.S. corporations.
Primary attrition drivers have been job mismatch or function expectations at 25% and higher competing affords at 17%.
The prime recruiting problem was discovering certified candidates at 66%, whereas compensation expectations have been the second greatest hurdle at 18%.
Despite the broader compensation pullback, specialised roles stay in high demand with premium pay.
Zero-knowledge cryptographers command salaries reaching $300,000 yearly, whereas blockchain builders earn between $150,000 and $210,000. Smart contract engineers could make $160,000 to $250,000 for senior positions, with entry-level roles beginning at $80,000.
Token economists earn $130,000 to $210,000, whereas compliance officers and authorized counsel make $110,000 to $190,000 yearly as regulatory frameworks solidify globally.
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