US crypto companies offer significantly higher compensation packages than overseas rivals, according to a survey of startups by digital-asset investment firm Dragonfly Capital.
The report shows US crypto salaries exceed wages abroad by 13% on average and that equity and token incentive packages are 30% higher. Tokens linked to crypto projects can be part of compensation, somewhat like share options.
But US crypto startups are less likely to issue such tokens than digital-asset businesses elsewhere. The report found that 11% of crypto firms in the US had launched a token, compared with 38% of international firms.
That is likely linked to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s aggressive posture toward digital assets under Chair Gary Gensler, who views the sector as rife with fraud and subject to the agency’s rules. The SEC’s stance is divisive and only this week a judge rebuked the regulator for “gross abuse of power” in a crypto case.
Dragonfly’s report provided a window onto salaries for different roles within crypto firms. A founder can earn $300,000 when his or her company reaches a Series C stage funding round. An engineer at the executive level can get paid as much as $283,000 a year, not including equity and token grants.
The findings are based on a 2023 survey of 49 startups backed by Dragonfly. The authors suggest the results “indicate trends rather than definitive sector-wide practices.”
The survey also found that the majority of companies, both in the US and overseas, pay staff in fiat currencies, while international firms are slightly more likely to pay workers in crypto.
The digital-asset industry suffered swingeing cutbacks following a deep bear market in 2022 and a series of corporate blowups, headlined by the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange. A market recovery over the past year has brightened the outlook for hiring, providing the rebound lasts.
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