2025 Crypto compensation report
Median comp benchmarks across 148 portfolio and observed companies, broken out by role, geo, and stage.
08 — 18 min readBase compensation in crypto is now broadly at parity with top-tier AI labs for equivalent seniority. That is a meaningful shift from three years ago and it changes recruiting strategy substantially.
The data
Median engineering comp at Series A for a US-based role sits at $220K base plus $180K in token/equity value. At Series B those numbers jump to $265K and $340K respectively. These are cash-comparable numbers — the token portion is marked at a reasonable discount to spot.
Geographic differentials have collapsed. A remote hire in Lisbon or Warsaw now commands 85% of a NYC number, up from 60% two years ago. Trying to hire on the old geo assumption is a way to lose every good candidate you interview.
The takeaway
If you are recruiting into a crypto company in 2026, benchmark against the top 25% of tech, not the median. The talent pool has consolidated around companies that treat this seriously. Every offer you make below market gets shopped.
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