Crypto Salaries Decline Despite Bitcoin Rally: Dragonfly Report

The 2024/2025 Crypto Compensation Report from venture capital firm Dragonfly reveals a significant pullback in industry pay, with average total compensation declining across most seniority levels. The survey, which compiled data from 85 companies and more than 3,000 roles, indicates a broad market cooling for an industry once defined by explosive growth and outsized rewards. Researchers at Dragonfly noted that ‘overall, we’d call crypto compensation in 2024 and early 2025 a down market, and practices still felt relatively immature compared to traditional sectors.’

This compensation downturn spans nearly every role and region, with both cash pay and token incentives shrinking from last year’s levels. The data shows mid-level roles experiencing flat growth while entry-level positions absorbed the steepest cuts. Entry-level positions accounted for only about 10% of total roles, reflecting the industry’s shifting priorities toward experienced talent despite overall compensation declines.

While most positions saw declining compensation, the only meaningful increases came at the executive level, creating what Dragonfly’s report describes as ‘a barbell effect’ most visible across product and engineering roles. This concentration of gains at the top while most of the workforce saw stagnating or shrinking pay represents a significant shift in how crypto firms are allocating resources.

The engineering function, which made up roughly two-thirds of total headcount according to the report, showed this divide most clearly. Meanwhile, non-technical roles in design, product, and marketing were comparatively limited in both numbers and compensation growth. This executive-staff compensation gap reflects the industry’s maturation as companies trade speed for structure in a more stable regulatory environment.

Western Europe continues to dominate the crypto labor landscape, driven by its concentration of venture funding, regulatory clarity, and institutional infrastructure. European markets, including those in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, have become anchors for crypto development, supported by mature capital markets and a regulatory climate now shaped by the continental bloc’s push toward a digital euro and public-chain experimentation.

Meanwhile, Asia’s share of hiring nearly doubled from about 20% to over 40% of companies surveyed, marking a significant geographic shift in the crypto labor market. The United States continues to lead in cash pay, while international teams offer greater equity and token incentives, reflecting different compensation strategies across regions as the industry globalizes.

Despite shifts in geography, working in the crypto industry remains largely remote, with over 54% of firms surveyed operating fully remotely compared with just 2% fully in-office according to Dragonfly’s data. This remote-first approach continues to define the industry’s work culture even as compensation structures evolve.

The report also reveals a significant hiring slowdown, with companies averaging 3.8 weeks and four interview rounds per role. Only about 68% of offers were accepted, with most declines linked directly to compensation concerns. This extended hiring timeline and lower acceptance rate indicate growing candidate selectivity and heightened competition for talent despite the overall compensation downturn.