2025 Cryptocurrency Industry Salary Report: Founders' Salaries Rise Against the Trend, Remote Work Becomes Industry Standard

According to Dragonfly's latest survey of 85 companies and over 3,400 individuals, the Crypto Assets industry is undergoing a pay squeeze, while simultaneously transitioning to a global and remote-first model. The average salary has decreased by 18% year-on-year to $144,000, and Token rewards have plummeted by 75%. However, founder salaries have defied the trend with a 37% rise, and senior technical talent and product management executives continue to dominate the salary rankings. Furthermore, the report confirms that 94% of crypto companies have adopted remote or hybrid work models, with remote work becoming a core part of the industry culture.

Compensation Trends: General Tightening and Executive Growth Against the Trend

The overall compensation package in the crypto industry is expected to contract significantly between 2024 and 2025, but not everyone will be affected.

· Average salary decline: The average salary for general positions in crypto companies has dropped to $144,000, a year-on-year decrease of 18%. Token rewards have been severely impacted, falling by as much as 75%.

· Founder salaries soar: Contrary to the overall trend, the average salary of founders rose by 37%, reaching about $197,000.

· High-paying positions:

Technical talent: Senior Individual Contributors (Senior ICs) and engineering leaders continue to receive generous rewards.

Salary Leaderboard: Overall, product management executives have the highest base salary.

· Separation of equity and tokens: The industry is adopting more mature compensation methods. 51% of teams now view tokens and equity as completely independent compensation elements, which is a significant increase compared to 45% in 2023. Only 22% of companies still maintain a proportional linkage between the two.

Talent Structure: Technology is King and Entry-Level Talent is Scarce

The demand for talent in the encryption industry remains highly focused on technical and engineering capabilities, while other functions and entry-level positions are relatively scarce.

· Engineer-led: Engineering and crypto engineering positions account for approximately 67% of the total number of employees, reaffirming that engineering capabilities still dominate Web3 recruitment.

· Scarcity of non-technical functions: Insufficient representation of non-technical functions: Marketing accounts for only 7%, design for 5%, and product for 7%, with most of these positions concentrated at senior or executive levels.

· Entry-level positions are scarce: Entry-level positions account for only 10% of the total workforce. Dragonfly points out that the scarcity of entry-level hiring limits the talent pool and diversity, making it difficult for new entrants to the industry (especially in product and marketing roles).

Work Mode: Remote Work Becomes an Unshakable Industry Standard

The operational model of the crypto industry has fully embraced globalization and distributed collaboration, with remote work becoming the norm.

· Remote work is mainstream: 54% of crypto companies operate fully remotely, 30% adopt a hybrid model, and another 14% identify as remote-first. Only 2% of companies operate entirely in the office.

· Policy Stability: 94% of companies plan to maintain their current remote/hybrid work policies, indicating that remote work has become deeply embedded in the culture of the Crypto Assets industry.

· Global salary disparities: While cash compensation for positions in the US remains at the forefront, international executives' compensation can sometimes match or even exceed their American counterparts, primarily due to larger Token and equity reward packages. Moreover, equity rewards for non-technical, non-executive positions in international markets can sometimes reach 2 to 10 times the levels seen in the US.

Conclusion

Dragonfly's report depicts a "cautious yet mature" Crypto Assets industry: despite market conditions leading to a general tightening of compensation, the industry still rewards founders and senior technical leaders without hesitation. Meanwhile, a remote-first work model has become an irreversible cultural feature of the industry. The Crypto Assets industry is redefining its talent strategy through globalization, the establishment of distributed teams, and rewards for technological excellence, focusing on long-term flexibility and global competitiveness.