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Building a crypto company means competing for talent in one of the most competitive tech markets. The best engineers, product managers, and business developers have endless opportunities, from established tech giants offering $300k+ packages to other crypto startups promising life-changing token allocations.
After helping dozens of crypto startups navigate compensation decisions, I've learned that success comes from understanding both traditional startup equity and crypto-specific compensation tools.
This guide covers everything you need to know about compensating employees in crypto startups - from traditional equity to token allocations, from competitive salaries to retention strategies. We'll use real data from Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, and other industry sources to give you actionable benchmarks.
Most importantly, we'll be honest about what works and what doesn't. Too many crypto companies have destroyed their culture and burn rate by throwing money at hiring problems. Let's build something more sustainable.
The crypto industry operates in a unique compensation environment. The average web3 developer salary is $84k per year, but these averages hide enormous variance. Making matters more complex, the crypto sector has overwhelmingly adopted remote work, with more than 87% of all roles falling within a work-from-home capacity per Pantera Capital's latest Blockchain Compensation survey.
The majority of surveyed companies consider themselves "fully distributed" and have remote work as the primary operating model of their businesses. About 37% of the companies in Pantera's survey adjusted compensation for the cost of living, which makes it difficult to ascertain how much people are actually getting paid.
On average, professionals in the crypto-asset industry make significantly more than their peers in Web2, with US crypto companies offering significantly higher compensation packages than overseas rivals.
Based on recent surveys, here's what companies are actually paying across different roles, seniority levels, and regions.
The below box plot shows the median salaries of common roles in white, with the boxes representing the upper and lower quartiles. The transparent triangles represent the average reported maximum for different roles within each category, and the dots show the maximum and minimum salaries of any individual in that category.
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These are wide variances, so let's break it down.
Engineering Compensation by Seniority and Region
For engineering roles, compensation varies dramatically by location and experience. The average base crypto engineering salary in Pantera's survey came in at $144,892, with a median of $150,000. U.S. and Canadian engineering salaries average at $177,653, with one standout engineer making $346,500.
Smart Contract Developers command premiums across all regions, earning $125k to $250k globally according to web3.career. Backend Developers average $160k with a range from $70k to $260k. Solidity Developers earn a median of $150k with ranges from $65k to $257k, while Rust Developers also average $150k with a range from $80k to $275k.
Geographic differences are stark. North American developers have the highest average salary at $140k per year, with ranges from $80k to $252k. European developers average just $66k annually, though the range extends from $30k to $190k. Asian developers average $60k with a range from $30k to $120k.
Executive and C-Suite Compensation
Executive compensation shows the widest variance based on company stage. In the US, executive salaries range from an average of $147,363 at seed-stage startups to $335,400 for those at Series C and beyond.
According to Carta Total Compensation data, the base salary of CEOs of 506 Web2 companies was reported as $283,000. In Pantera's survey, the average salary of a Web3 CEO was $192,957. This roughly $100K differential can be explained by differences in the population they surveyed. Regardless, keep in mind that Web3 CEOs have a significant upside potential from equity and ownership of their project.
CTOs and other technical executives often command similar or higher compensation than CEOs in crypto companies, particularly those building novel protocols or infrastructure. Senior legal roles have become increasingly valuable, with median base salaries in the US standing at $225,000 and scaling up to $370,000 at the top echelons.
Marketing and Business Development
Marketing roles show significant regional variation. Within the crypto ecosystem, the average marketing professional can anticipate a salary of $127,318 globally, while in the U.S. and Canada they can expect $163,459. The highest paid Marketing professional salary we saw was $275,000. Specialized roles in marketing and finance also see higher median salaries in the US compared to global figures, with marketers earning a median salary of $135,000 versus a global $100,000.
Business development roles globally center at a median base salary of $115,000, with US professionals averaging $140,000. Senior-level employees in business development can make as much as $275,000.
Product Management
Product management professionals show median base salaries ranging from $115,000 in early career to $187,500 for senior positions within the US. The average U.S. and Canada salary for product roles is $178,565. Product management compensation tends to be more standardized across companies than engineering roles, with less variance based on specific technical skills.
Sales and Operations
Sales compensation in crypto follows traditional tech models with lower base salaries supplemented by commission structures. The typical range runs from $70k to $275k total compensation, with the split between base and variable compensation depending heavily on the role and company stage.
Encompassing roles from customer support to strategy, the operations sector sees a median US base salary of $110,000, peaking at $344,000 for the highest earners. The average U.S. and Canada salary for finance and operations roles is $199,558.
Founder Compensation
Founder compensation is highly variable and often below market rates in early stages.
The general advice is to pay yourself enough to not worry about money but not enough to save. This ensures founders remain motivated by equity upside rather than salary.
During pre-seed, founders typically pay themselves between $30k to $150k per year, with the median around $100k in California.
During seed, founders typically pay themselves between $50k to $200k per year, with the median around $150k in California.
One surprising trend: 97% of the 1,600 respondents to Pantera's survey preferred fiat-based compensation. This represents a major shift from the early days of crypto when token compensation was seen as the primary draw.
When crypto payment does occur, USDC represents roughly 56% of crypto salary payments, while USDT stood at 25%, followed by bitcoin (BTC) at 13%.
Despite crypto's unique compensation tools, traditional equity remains crucial for early-stage startups.
An Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) is the legal framework for giving options to employees. The ESOP represents the total option pool available for employee grants and appears as a separate line on your cap table. Think of it as a reserved bucket of equity specifically set aside to compensate employees. When you grant stock options to an employee, you're giving them the right to purchase shares from this pool at a fixed price (the strike price) at some point in the future.
The ESOP lays out the standard terms and provisions for stock option grants by the company. This includes vesting schedules, exercise windows, and what happens when employees leave. Having a well-structured ESOP is essential for attracting talent, as sophisticated employees will expect clear, fair terms that protect their interests.
Traditionally, ESOPs are set to 10% at seed. However, some accelerators, including Y Combinator and The Family, now advocate 20%. For crypto startups, I recommend starting with 15-20% given the competitive talent market.
In the US, ESOPs are typically increased from 10% at seed to 15% at Series A. The ESOP then grows with each funding round, reaching 20% or even 25% by Series D. This progressive increase reflects the growing team size and the need to remain competitive for senior hires as the company matures.
Here are some benchmarks for crypto equity compensation, using data from Babak Nivi and confirmed with personal experience.
Early Employees (Pre-Series A): For engineers in Silicon Valley, the highest (not typical!) equity levels were:
Key Technical Roles:
C-Level Executives (Post Series A):
The standard remains a four-year vesting period regardless of role or seniority. However, there are important decisions to make about how that vesting occurs.
I've been in situations with both back-loaded vesting and flat vesting, both with a 1 year cliff, and I strongly recommend a flat vesting schedule with a 1 year cliff. Here's why: it's best for everyone if unhappy employees aren't locked in at year 4, so they can move on and make room for fresh, excited team members.
Back-loaded vesting, where employees receive 10% in the first year, 20% in the second, 30% in the third and 40% in the fourth, creates perverse incentives. I've seen talented employees become disengaged but stick around just for that final year's large vest. This hurts both the company culture and the individual's career growth.
With standard linear vesting, employees vest 25% after the one-year cliff, then the remaining 75% vests monthly over the next three years. This creates predictable, fair compensation that allows both parties to make rational decisions about their future.
Some crypto companies have experimented with shorter vesting periods or no cliffs to be more competitive. While 6-month cliffs can work for key hires, I've found that the one-year cliff serves an important purpose in ensuring mutual fit. Going shorter than four years total vesting can also backfire by creating a mercenary culture where employees job-hop for quick gains.
Token compensation introduces unique opportunities and challenges. Tokens are relatively new and foreign to many candidates, but they offer several advantages.
First, tokens provide instant liquidity and faster time-to-market compared to traditional equity. Employees don't need to wait for a company to exit via acquisition or IPO. Second, there's no exercise cost or windows like traditional options, removing a significant financial barrier for employees. Third, token compensation auto-scales to the market in real-time, as compared to a startup's equity value, which is pegged to company value assigned at the last fundraising round.
However, tokens can come withlegal and
Research by Lauren Stephanian and Cooper Turley indicates that typical team token allocation is 17.5%, distributed between 20-40 people. This includes both founders and employees.
For planning purposes, you should reserve 15-20% of total token supply for the team. The average size of companies reaching their liquidity event, such as the token generation event (TGE), is between 20-40 people. Unlike traditional startups that take an average of 11 years to reach IPO, crypto companies typically plan for token launch within 1-3 years.
When determining individual allocations, start by using equity benchmarks as a guideline. Web2 equity ranges can guide token equity allocation between founders, investors, and employees.
Since tokens typically become liquid much faster than equity, you might offer 50-70% of what you'd offer in equity percentage terms. This adjustment reflects the reduced risk and faster liquidity for token holders.
Many successful crypto companies offer both equity and tokens, providing downside protection through equity and upside through tokens. Given the uncertainty and complexity behind tokens and their markets, this hybrid approach helps attract candidates who might be skeptical of token-only compensation.
Vesting schedules for both equity and tokens in web3 mostly mirror the industry standard in web2. The standard remains a 1 year cliff on 4 years of total vesting.
However, we've seen vesting periods as short as 6-12 months with no cliff in some cases. Despite this variation, a standard vesting schedule of four years with a one-year cliff remains most common and is what I recommend.
Important considerations include lockups, which typically start at the token generation event and are set for one year. You should design staggered unlock schedules to prevent market pressure from too many tokens becoming liquid simultaneously. Some companies also consider performance-based unlocks for senior roles, though this adds complexity.
Despite the allure of equity and tokens, cash compensation matters. The average base crypto engineering salary came in at $144,892, with a median of $150,000. You need to be competitive on base salary or you'll lose candidates before they even consider your equity package.
I recommend matching 75-90% of FAANG base salaries while making up the difference with equity. Be transparent about this tradeoff during negotiations. Top candidates understand the risk-reward dynamics and will appreciate your honesty about balancing cash conservation with equity upside.
For pre-token companies, start with 100% traditional equity for your first 10-15 employees. Include token warrants or future token rights to ensure these early team members participate in potential token upside. Given the uncertainty and complexity behind tokens and their markets, some companies decide to give employees both equity and tokens, which provides more balanced risk exposure.
For post-token companies, consider allocating 30-50% of compensation value in equity for downside protection and 50-70% in tokens for upside potential. Provide clear documentation explaining both components and their different risk profiles.
Develop clear compensation bands by level to ensure fairness and scalability.
For Junior Engineers, expect base salaries of $80k-$120k with equity grants of 0.1%-0.3% and token allocations of 0.05%-0.15% if applicable. Senior Engineers command $130k-$180k base with 0.3%-0.8% equity and 0.15%-0.4% tokens. Engineering Managers and Staff Engineers earn $170k-$220k base with 0.5%-1.2% equity and 0.25%-0.6% tokens.
These bands provide structure while allowing flexibility for exceptional candidates or competitive situations. Review and update them quarterly as the market moves quickly.
US-based crypto firms generally offer higher compensation than their international counterparts—13% more in salaries and 30% more in equity and token packages.
You have three main options for remote team compensation. Location-based pay adjusts salaries based on local markets, which can save money but may create resentment. A global flat rate pays the same regardless of location, which simplifies administration but can be expensive. The hybrid approach I prefer sets a floor at 70% of US rates with location adjustments above that, balancing fairness with fiscal responsibility.
The majority of surveyed companies consider themselves "fully distributed" and have remote work as the primary operating model, making this decision crucial for your talent strategy.
As team members join and your company grows, it will be critical to retain strong employees. Luckily, there are many strategies for retaining strong team members, and it’s often cheaper than recruiting new talent.
It is relatively common to grant employees annual refreshers, starting 2.5 years after their original option grant. The refresher is usually equal to a quarter of what the employee might expect to receive if hired for their position today, times a performance multiplier.
Because things move faster in crypto, you may need to be more competitive than this benchmark. You can consider starting refreshers at the 2-year mark, and size the refresher at 30-40% of the new hire grant.
Here’s an example: an early employee was granted 100,000 shares two years ago. They are performing well, and you want to retain them. New employees in similar positions are granted 30,000 shares at hire, so you offer them a refresher grant of 10,000 shares (33%).
If you’ve hired well, your team members will have personal ambitions that align with your organization. Explicitly investing in their career development is an easy way to both retain and improve employees. Done well, it’s a win-win.
Provide clear growth paths within the organization, even if there are no formal positions open. Growth isn’t just in title, it can also be in specific skills they want to develop. Training, rotation programs, and mentorship often help everyone.
For example, a young engineer at an organization I used to work for was a natural leader and showed interest in leading teams. The founder got him leadership coaching as a perk, and when it was time for the team to expand the engineer was ready to take on a management position.
Let's look at concrete examples:
Building a great crypto team requires thoughtful compensation design. The best approach combines:
Remember that compensation is just one part of attraction and retention. Culture, mission, and growth opportunities matter just as much. The most successful crypto companies use compensation as a tool to build great teams, not as a crutch for poor culture or unclear vision.
Finally, stay flexible. The crypto sector has also overwhelmingly adopted remote work, the survey found, with more than 87% of all roles falling within a work-from-home capacity. The market moves fast, regulations change, and what works today might not work tomorrow. Build systems that can adapt while maintaining fairness and transparency.
The companies that win in crypto will be those that thoughtfully balance the innovative compensation tools our industry offers with the fundamental principles of building great teams. Use the data in this guide as a starting point, but always remember that your specific situation will require its own approach.
John Rising is the co-founder and CEO of Stackup, a digital asset management platform designed to streamline crypto operations for enterprise-grade businesses. Prior to founding Stackup in 2021, John began his career in aerospace engineering, where he managed missions at SpaceX, led vehicle design at Relativity Space as its first employee, and helped design the propulsion systems in Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
John holds a master’s degree in engineering and management from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from USC. At Stackup, John leverages his technical expertise to champion and simplify enterprise adoption of blockchain technology, making the industry more accessible to businesses and end users alike.
