Almost All Crypto Employees Take Pay in Fiat, Pantera Study Finds

Many crypto-industry employees believe that cryptocurrencies will eventually play a much larger role in the overall financial and payments system.

For now, though, almost all of them take their salaries in government-issued currencies, or "fiat" in the industry lingo.

Some 97% of people in the nascent industry are paid a base salary in fiat, while only 3% are paid in crypto, according to a new study from Pantera Capital, a digital-asset investment firm. The 2023 compensation data was based on 1,046 responses.

And of those who got paid in crypto, the vast majority took the pay in the dollar-linked stablecoins USDC and USDT, with 13% opting for bitcoin (BTC).

The median pay globally among 570 engineers surveyed was $120,000, with those in North America getting $193,000, up 1.5% versus the prior year, according to the study.

That compares with an estimated $166,100 for engineers in North America in traditional tech or "Web2" roles.

"Senior engineers in Web3 make slightly more than their peers in Web2," the Pantera report concluded.

Read More: Crypto Startup Salaries: Here’s How Much Devs and Others Get Paid

Roughly 88% of roles in the crypto industry are remote, according to the study, contrasted with one estimate of 28% in Web2 roles.

"Due to this global distribution, we don’t anticipate a push in crypto to return to the office," the authors wrote

Executives make $147,363 to $335,400, depending on their companies' stage.

One in five respondents reported also receiving an initial package of token incentives – averaging $89,000 for non-executive positions and $1.3 million for executives.

Of course, crypto markets are volatile, so the actual values of the packages can fluctuate substantially.

"As a note, it’s important to keep in mind that this figure is subject to a vesting schedule and, without knowing the respective valuation and timing, this number could be taken out of context," according to the report.