Study: Landing a Crypto Job Can Raise Your Salary By 32%

The Web3 revolution isn’t just reshaping the internet-it’s rewriting paychecks. Cointab analyzed over 3,000 job posts on Indeed US to find that professionals in web3 enjoy a 32% salary boost. Let’s dig deeper into how the Web3 industry treats employees far better than the traditional Web2.

Key Findings

1. Switching to the crypto industry can boost your salary by 32%.
2. More than 90% of crypto jobs pay higher than their Web2 counterparts.
3. Creators (content creators, artists, designers, etc.) earn 47% more in Web3 than in Web2, representing the largest pay gap among roles.
4. Tech-related positions in Web3 pay 16% more on average than in Web2.

Methodology 

We started the study by creating a job list with all Web3 jobs that we can find on, then we found equivalent roles in Web2. For example, GameFi game designer = Game designer. 

After that, we crawl the annual pay of each role. A total of 3,121 job posts are crawled. 

Finally, we find the pay gap between two equivalent roles. 

1. Web3 Pays Far Higher Than Web2

Crypto may still be volatile, but its job market is anything but. Across nearly all categories, Web3 professionals earn substantially more than their Web2 counterparts. We found that jobs in Web3 pay 32% higher on average, and a staggering 94% of crypto roles offer better compensation than similar jobs in traditional fields.

The reason is simple: talent scarcity and high value creation. Web3 startups and protocols compete globally for skilled builders, and they’re willing to pay a premium to attract them. Whether it’s engineers maintaining validator nodes or creators driving community engagement, the incentives in this space reflect its explosive growth.

2. The Sectors with the Biggest Pay Gap

The Web3 pay gap isn’t evenly spread-it depends on what you do.
Creators top the chart with a 47% pay gap, followed by researchers and analysts at 33%, and tech professionals at 19%.

This trend flips the old narrative that “engineering is king.” In crypto, creativity and storytelling are just as valuable as code. Memes, content, and communities drive adoption, which explains why creators lead the pack.

3. Jobs with the Largest and Smallest Pay Gaps

3.1. Creators

Among creators, meme artists earn an eye-popping 108% more than their Web2 equivalents – the biggest pay gap among creators. NFT music creators also enjoy an 82% gap, while content creators and virtual fashion designers see raises of 30-40%.

At the other end of the scale, NFT artists have the smallest pay gap in this group at just 21%, showing that while digital art may have defined the early NFT boom, market saturation has balanced salaries.

 

3.2. Tech-related roles

In the tech sector, the biggest winners are wallet engineers (+42%), metaverse architects (+32%), and ZK-prover engineers (+27%). But at the low end, blockchain core developers—often seen as the most technical role—only earn 2% more than equivalent Web2 engineers. It’s a sign that core development is maturing and pay is stabilizing as blockchain infrastructure becomes more standardized.

3.3. Analysts and Researchers

For analysts and researchers, the token analyst role leads with a 58% salary gap, followed by DeFi risk analysts (+38%) and treasury analysts (+40%). Meanwhile, DAO data analysts show the smallest difference at 5%, highlighting that analytical roles tied to decentralized governance are still emerging and not yet fully valued by the market.

 

3.4. The Paradox of BD and Manager Roles

Not all roles follow the same trend. Business development (BD) roles reveal a curious split: junior BD specialists in Web3 earn 15% less than in Web2, but BD managers earn 44% more.

The same paradox applies to product management (PM). DeFi PMs earn 11% less than their fintech counterparts, while NFT marketplace PMs earn 42% more. This suggests that compensation in Web3 reflects not just job title, but the protocol’s growth stage and sector economics.

Conclusion

The message is clear: if you’re good at what you do, moving into crypto could mean a 32% raise overnight. From meme creators to smart contract engineers, Web3 rewards those who build, create, and experiment.

The pay gap between Web3 and Web2 isn’t just about money-it’s about momentum. The builders of tomorrow aren’t waiting for permission from old industries. They’re already getting paid to shape the future.

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