How Crypto & Web3 Are Redefining the Way We Work

The recent May holidays are a great opportunity to take a look at how cryptocurrencies, Web3, and blockchain are changing the way we work. More and more freelancers and employees around the world are getting paid not in euros or dollars, but in USDT or BTC. Some do it to bypass restrictions and banking issues, others to capitalize on their loyalty to their employer, and for some, it’s simply the only option available.

Cryptocurrency has become not just a means of payment, but also a ticket to a new economy-one without borders, but not without risks. Coinpaper explored how blockchain and Web3 are transforming the job market, what new professions are emerging in this decentralized world, and what challenges specialists face along the way.

Cryptocurrency is a new trend in international freelancers pay

In the age of digital nomads, getting paid through banks is becoming too slow, expensive and difficult. According to a study by ZeroCach, 58% of freelancers admit that local banking systems don't suit them, and 65% have lost income due to currency barriers when working with foreign clients. Against this backdrop, cryptocurrency has become an attractive alternative. 

The same study says that almost all freelancers surveyed (93%) would like to receive part of their earnings in digital assets, and almost two-thirds of national currencies would prefer stablecoins pegged to the dollar. This figure is particularly high in countries with volatile national currencies (in Argentina and the UAE, more than 80% of respondents would choose a stablecoin payment). 

The reasons are obvious: cryptocurrencies allow you to receive money instantly, with low fees and bypassing banks. In addition, freelancers prefer to pay in digital assets because they remain in the gray zone of regulation and can be tax-free.

DAOs and Web3: new employment models

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and Web3 platforms offer a fundamentally different format of work. DAOs are communities without bosses and strict hierarchy, where participants decide what and how much to work on and own the results together. In fact, it is a hybrid of labor relations and volunteering: everyone is both an ”employee” and a co-owner of the project. You can be a member of dozens of DAOs at once and contribute at will;

Such digital collectives attract workers, especially those frustrated with the office routine. At its peak in August 2022, the number of participants in decentralized autonomous organizations reached 3.4 million. Of course, this is a drop in the ocean compared to the traditional labor market, but the growth is impressive - 140,000 new members joined various DAOs in July 2022 alone.

Work in decentralized autonomous organizations is often project-based: instead of a fixed rate, there are rewards for completed tasks (bounties) or a management share in the form of tokens. Earnings can be very high. There are cases where active DAO participants earned up to $300,000 per year;

A survey of 422 members of such organizations, conducted by Gitcoin and Bankless, showed that 50% of respondents were able to earn a living (fully cover their needs) by participating in DAOs. Many started to combine their AAO work with their main job, and then ”quit the blockchain” altogether.

Tokens instead of shares: the internal economics of companies

Cryptocurrencies are not only affecting freelancers, but also traditional companies. In the blockchain industry, it has become normal to include tokens in employee compensation packages. Web3 startup teams set aside a share of the issued tokens to reward developers, marketers, and community managers - similar to stock options in classic IT;

This creates an internal economy where the success of the project directly increases the team's wealth. Unlike stocks, tokens are often available for sale much earlier - sometimes immediately after listing. On the one hand, such liquidity motivates specialists to go into blockchain startups, promising fast income. On the other hand, it poses challenges: the ability to easily cash out tokens can encourage employees to think about short-term growth rather than the long-term value of the product. Companies are learning how to build vesting schemes (gradual unlocking) to retain people and tie rewards to real project success.

There are already examples of this approach. Major cryptocurrency exchanges launched their own tokens (BNB for Binance, OKB for OKX) and distributed them to early employees - subsequently, the value of these bonuses increased many times over. Many are familiar with the case of Uniswap, which in 2020 launched the UNI management token and distributed it not only to users but also to development teams, effectively turning key employees into co-owners of the ecosystem;

Some Web2 companies are experimenting, too: there are pilots of internal corporate cryptocurrencies for motivation - a kind of digital ”badges” or points that can be redeemed for bonuses. For example, on Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Tokens platform, companies can create their own tokens to give employees rewards for achievements.

New professions in the era of cryptocurrencies

The rapid growth of the crypto industry has spawned a whole range of professions never heard of before. Today, blockchain developers and smart contracts engineers, tokenomics specialists, digital asset lawyers, DeFi analysts, DAO managers and NFT creators are in demand. Even in traditional fields, narrow roles are emerging. For example, large galleries are hiring experts in NFT art, and game studios are hiring game token economy managers. 

On the wave of this demand, the number of people employed in the crypto sector has skyrocketed. According to an estimate by K33 Research, from 2019 to 2023, global employment in the crypto industry grew by nearly 160%, from ~73,000 to 190,000 workers worldwide. LinkedIn recorded that cryptocurrency job openings in the US increased by 395% in 2021, while the tech industry as a whole grew by ~98%. Even in the bear market of 2022-2023, specialized sites were publishing 15,000 new Web3-sector job postings each month - despite the general cooling off, talent recruitment continued.

Along with the emergence of new hiring roles, blockchain has also spawned types of income generation without having to get a job. A new form of employment - airdrop hunters - is popular in the crypto environment. These are users who actively participate in the life of new projects (testing platforms, making transactions, interacting with DAOs) in the hope of getting free tokens.

According to research by X-explore, ”premium” hunteers who received airdrops from five major projects earned an average of $18,935 per wallet, while ”standard” hunteers earned about $9,384. Although this occupation requires time, experience and carries risks, for some it has become a stable source of income in Web3.

Risks and challenges of the crypto labor market

Of course, the coin has a flip side. The impact of cryptocurrencies on employment comes with serious risks and turbulence.

The volatility of earnings 

The exchange rate of cryptocurrencies is volatile, and this directly hits those who earn income in digital assets. Today your fee in ETH is valued at $2000, but in a month it could drop to $1200. Even stablecoins sometimes carry pegged risks (remember the crash of USDT in 2022). Employees have to either convert crypto to fiat immediately or put up with fluctuations. For example, developers who were paid with project tokens in 2022 experienced a shock - their real income dropped by tens of percent as the market fell. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the volatility of the dollar exchange rate against the local currency. Cryptocurrency companies also suffer from the ”up and down” cycle: in the first case, they lure talent with high salaries, and in the second case, they are forced to drastically cut staff.

Mass layoffs in the crypto market occur during the months of the biggest collapses (Terra, FTX). The graph below shows the number of employees laid off from crypto companies by month (February 2022 - January 2023):

The industry has experienced a wave of layoffs over the past few years. After record hiring growth in 2021, by mid-2022, many firms had already begun to ”shed ballast”. The collapse of the Terra ecosystem triggered a surge of layoffs: in June 2022, more than 3,000 employees of cryptocurrency companies lost their jobs. The fall was followed by the next blow in the form of the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange, which led to a new wave of layoffs (1,805 people in November);

In January 2023, layoffs continued at almost the same level (another ~2800 employees). According to some estimates, from April 2022 to the fall of 2023, the crypto industry cumulatively lost about 13,300 specialists. Even the giants got under the crush: Coinbase laid off about 2,000 employees in two rounds, Kraken - 30% of the staff, Crypto.com, ConsenSys, Gemini and many others also significantly reduced. For specialists, this means high uncertainty: yesterday you are in demand, and tomorrow your company closes due to market collapse or regulatory bans.

Security and trust 

Working with cryptocurrencies requires digital literacy and caution. A freelancer who receives payment in BTC is responsible for the safety of his wallet - an error in the address or a phishing attack can deprive him of his earnings, and there is no way to get anything back. Participation in a DAO brings legal issues: in fact, there is no official contract, social package, or guarantees. Conflicts are resolved by vote of token holders, which is not always fair to ordinary contributors;

In addition, the crypto sector attracts fraudsters: pyramid schemes can hide under the guise of new projects. The lack of regulation means that labor relations are based on trust and reputation, and abuses happen in any sphere. For example, projects may delay payments to the team or use illiquid tokens that are immediately devalued.

Legal uncertainty 

Different countries treat paying and working in the crypto industry differently. Somewhere bitcoin wages are banned, somewhere they are heavily taxed. Regulators are just beginning to issue laws on the status of DAOs, NFTs and other instruments. This creates ”gray areas. An employee may be subject to discrepancies: for example, is a token received for work to be considered securities (with all the consequences that entails)? There are also tax risks: the state can at any time charge a bill for income in crypto if it is not properly declared. Regulations affect the companies themselves: exchanges are leaving jurisdictions with strict laws, moving the team to other countries. Such moves and legal turbulence make life difficult for employees.

Despite these difficulties, the market is gradually learning to mitigate risks. Services for instant conversion of salaries from crypto to fiat, insurance solutions for users, legal advice for DAOs and crypto startups are appearing. Volatility is partially solved by payments in dollar-stablecoins - they are already preferred by most freelancers. 

Employee feedback

Revenue volatility, mass layoffs, security and trust issues, and legal uncertainty make working in the crypto industry challenging and risky. This is confirmed by the experience of Reddit users. For example, an author under the nickname TheResistancexz emphasizes the instability of the currency in certain countries.

A user with the pseudonym Ricozuri highlights the importance of a stable financial situation when deciding to get paid in digital assets: 

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies have already left a noticeable mark on the job market, making it more global, decentralized and dynamic. They provide professionals with new opportunities - from self-employment within the DAO to participation in international projects without bureaucratic barriers. An economy is taking shape where talent can be rewarded directly in digital assets and contributions to the community are converted into tokens.

However, we also see the downside - from high volatility to legal conflicts that have yet to be resolved. Everyone who connects their career with the crypto industry should prepare for constant self-learning, financial caution, and the ability to adapt quickly. In a way, this brings us back to the roots of entrepreneurship, where there are no guarantees, but there is freedom and high potential rewards.