Published 18 June 2026. Based on the Plexus State of Crypto Hiring Report 2026, drawing on 904 advertised crypto roles, 270+ Plexus placements, and 200+ candidate survey responses across 2025.

The 2026 Plexus State of Crypto Hiring Report finds that the crypto labour market has tilted firmly back toward its financial core. Average compensation has crossed $182,000, Rust has overtaken Solidity as the dominant smart-contract language, and the breakout story in salary growth is Legal — not Engineering. Below are the headline findings, in detail, with charts.

The 2026 crypto hiring landscape is defined by a shift from speculative headcount toward revenue-critical functions. Legal and compliance, and quant trading, are pulling ahead of general engineering and data.

The three numbers that define 2026

Key findings from the 2026 report

• Compensation: Average crypto salaries reached $182,000 in 2025, up from $165,000 in 2023 — a structural increase that holds even after adjusting for broader US wage growth.
• Crypto vs tech premium: Crypto compensation now sits 11% above comparable broader-tech salaries in 2025, with the premium widening for senior protocol and quant roles. The crypto salary premium is the percentage by which average crypto compensation exceeds comparable broader-tech salaries, which was 11% in 2025.
• Rust overtakes Solidity: Rust accounted for 58.5% of smart-contract vacancies in 2025 versus Solidity’s 41.5% — the second consecutive year Rust has led, reflecting the Solana ecosystem’s developer-growth lead (83% YoY increase in 2024).

• Salary by language: Senior Rust engineers averaged $215,000 in 2025; senior Solidity engineers averaged $198,000. The roles paying at the top of this range sit closer to protocol design, trading infrastructure, and performance-critical systems.
• Legal salaries are the 2026 breakout: Legal averaged ~$240,000 in 2025, up from ~$150,000 in 2023 — a 60% rise driven by MiCA, US stablecoin legislation, and institutional compliance hiring. Legal is now the highest-paid function in crypto.
• Data is in decline: Data is the only role category where average salaries are falling, dropping from ~$160,000 in 2023 to ~$130,000 in 2025 as talent migrates to AI and crypto firms refocus on quant, trading, and risk over broader research.
• Role mix: Engineering accounted for 49.7% of all crypto vacancies in 2025; Operations rose to 12.7%, overtaking BD and Sales (8%). Legal grew to 4.4% as MiCA and US stablecoin legislation drove compliance hiring.

• Women in crypto: Female placements at Plexus rose to 17% in 2025, up from 6% in 2023 — outpacing the industry-wide rate of 6% in senior crypto positions. Women now account for 44% of new US wallet registrations.
• What candidates want: Across 200+ surveyed candidates, Remote Working ranked #1 priority and Token Allocation ranked dead last (#10) — a complete reversal from the 2021–2022 cycle. Cash, career trajectory, and company reputation now close offers.

• Top 10 most-recruited roles: Quantitative Researcher/Trader, Rust/Protocol Engineer, Backend Engineer, Frontend Engineer, Marketing/Growth Lead, BD Manager, Solidity/Smart Contract Engineer, Security Auditor, AI/ML Engineer, General Counsel.

Fast facts

• Legal is the highest-paid function in crypto, averaging $240,000 in 2025.
• Data is the only role category with falling average pay, down to roughly $130,000 in 2025.
• Engineering still leads on hiring volume, at 49.7% of all crypto vacancies in 2025.
• Female placements at Plexus rose to 17% in 2025, up from 6% in 2023.
• Women now account for 44% of new US wallet registrations.

Methodology

The 2026 Plexus State of Crypto Hiring Report draws on three data sources:

1. Job market data. 904 advertised crypto roles tracked across the Plexus mandate book and partner job boards during 2025, segmented by function, seniority, and ecosystem. Salary ranges from these vacancies feed into the report’s compensation benchmarks alongside placement data.
2. Placement and offer data. 270+ successful Plexus placements over the past 12 months, with verified base salary, token grant, and total-compensation figures supplied by hiring clients at offer stage. Total compensation here means base salary plus token allocation combined, though the report’s candidate survey found token allocation now ranks last among what crypto professionals actually prioritise.
3. Candidate survey. 200+ crypto professionals — engineering, BD, product, legal, ops — surveyed during Q4 2025 on role priorities, compensation expectations, and sentiment.

About Plexus

Plexus is a specialist Web3, crypto, and digital-assets recruitment partner. Since 2017 we’ve placed senior, technical, and business-critical hires for clients including Ethereum Foundation, dYdX, Galaxy Digital, Xapo Bank, Maple, Trilitech, Electric Capital, and 150+ other crypto firms. Plexus is ranked #30 in the Recruiter Hot 100 2026. The team operates from offices in London and Miami, with 50+ in-house specialist crypto recruiters and a database of 500,000+ verified crypto candidates.

“Plexus has proven to be an exceptional partner in our hiring process. The team has a deep understanding of the Web3 market, listens to client needs, and their efforts to find the right fit each and every time have made a tremendous difference.”

— dYdX Foundation

Frequently asked questions

Who is this crypto hiring report for?

The Plexus State of Crypto Hiring Report 2026 is built for founders and hiring managers at crypto and Web3 companies benchmarking pay and role demand, and for candidates checking their own compensation against the market. It draws on Plexus’s own mandate book, 270+ verified placements, and a survey of 200+ crypto professionals, so the figures reflect the market Plexus recruits into every day, not a generic industry estimate.

What does the average crypto salary look like in 2026?

According to Plexus’s 2026 State of Crypto Hiring Report, the average crypto salary across 904 advertised roles and 270+ verified placements was $182,000 in 2025, up from $165,000 in 2023. Senior Rust engineers averaged $215,000 and senior Solidity engineers averaged $198,000, while Legal was the standout at $240,000, up 60% in two years. Real recent Plexus placements range from a $150k Senior SRE to a $295k Lead Rust Engineer at a Solana trading-infrastructure firm.

What are the highest paid roles in crypto in 2026?

Plexus’s 2026 report found Legal is now the highest-paid function in crypto, averaging $240,000 in 2025, up from $150,000 in 2023 on the back of MiCA and US stablecoin compliance hiring. Senior Rust engineers follow at $215,000, ahead of senior Solidity engineers at $198,000, with the biggest pay concentrated in protocol design and performance-critical trading infrastructure. Recent Plexus placements have gone as high as $295,000, for a Lead Rust Engineer at a Solana trading-infrastructure firm.

Is Rust really overtaking Solidity for crypto hiring?

Yes. Plexus’s 2026 report found Rust accounted for 58.5% of smart-contract vacancies in 2025 versus Solidity’s 41.5%, the second consecutive year Rust has led, tracked across 904 advertised crypto roles. The gap is widening as the Solana ecosystem grows, though Solidity remains foundational for DeFi primitives and EVM-embedded protocols, with performance-critical projects driving demand toward Rust.

How do crypto salaries compare to the broader tech industry?

Plexus’s 2026 report found crypto compensation sat 11% above comparable broader-tech salaries in 2025, and that premium is widening rather than narrowing. The gap is biggest at the top of the market, where senior protocol engineers and quant researchers command the largest premium over tech equivalents. For candidates weighing a move from traditional tech into crypto, the numbers increasingly favour making the jump.

How was the salary data collected?

Plexus’s 2026 State of Crypto Hiring Report draws on two verified sources: salary ranges from 904 advertised crypto roles tracked across the Plexus mandate book and partner job boards during 2025, and actual offers extended to and accepted by the 270+ candidates Plexus placed over the past 12 months. These are supplemented with survey responses from 200+ crypto professionals on role priorities and compensation expectations.

What’s the difference between advertised salary and total compensation in this report?

Advertised salary is the range stated in a job listing, drawn from the 904 roles Plexus tracked in 2025; total compensation is base salary plus token allocation, taken from the 270+ verified offers Plexus placements actually accepted. Plexus’s report treats these as distinct figures rather than blending them, because advertised ranges tend to run wider and less precise than confirmed offer data.

Can I cite this report in my own content?

Yes, please credit “Plexus State of Crypto Hiring Report 2026” and link back to this report page. For interview requests or original-data enquiries relating to the report, contact enquiries@plexusrs.com.

Download the full 2026 report

The full 28-page PDF includes role-by-role salary tables, geographic breakdowns, contributor analysis from co-founders Zeth Couceiro and Shaun Potts, and the complete TL;DR with implementation tactics for hiring managers. Download the State of Crypto Hiring Report 2026 →

Here’s what the Recruiter Hot 100 is and why it should matter to anyone hiring in Digital Assets.

Most recruitment “awards” aren’t worth the LinkedIn post they’re announced on. Best Agency To Work For (as voted by… the agency). Fastest Growing Firm (self-reported revenue, no verification). You know the ones.

So when we say we’ve been ranked #30 on the 2025 Recruiter Hot 100 we want to explain why this one’s different. Not because we’re trying to impress you, but because if you’re hiring in crypto or digital assets and choosing who to partner with, you deserve to know what the benchmarks actually mean.

WHAT IS THE RECRUITER HOT 100?

The Hot 100 is an annual ranking of the top-performing recruitment firms in the UK. It’s compiled by Gambit Corporate Finance, an independent advisory firm that specialises in the Human Capital sector, and published each year in Recruiter Magazine.

It covers firms of all sizes, all specialisms. Large generalists sitting alongside niche players. And crucially, every single one of them is competing on the same metric regardless of how big or well-known they are.

No submissions. No panels. No “tell us why you deserve to be on the list.” The data comes directly from Companies House filings –  verified, publicly available, independently analysed. You either qualify or you don’t.

HOW IS IT CALCULATED?

One metric: net fee income (NFI) per employee. How much fee revenue does each person on your team generate?

That’s it. Not total revenue (which just rewards size). Not headcount growth. Not brand recognition. The per—head ratio determines your ranking.

To qualify, firms need at least £1.5m in gross profit and 20+ employees. This year, the minimum NFI per head to make the list at all rose by 30.7% to £66,288. The bar genuinely moves upward every year. 32 new firms made the 2025 list — up from 22 the year before — which tells you how competitive it’s getting.

You can’t game this one.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU AS A HIRING MANAGER?

Here’s where it gets relevant to you.

NFI per head is a proxy for something you care about a lot: whether a firm’s consultants are actually closing roles. Consistently. At a high standard.

A high ratio means consultants aren’t running bloated pipelines and flooding your inbox with CVs that are almost-right. It means the firm is structured to deliver — lean enough to move quickly, specialist enough to source correctly, operationally sharp enough to do it again and again across the team.

Efficiency and quality tend to travel together in recruitment. The firms that bill well per head usually do so because their candidates convert. Slow, scattergun processes don’t produce strong per-head numbers. It’s that simple.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER IN CRYPTO AND DIGITAL ASSETS SPECIFICALLY?

Hiring into digital assets is harder than it looks from the outside. The talent pool is small. The roles are often genuinely complex; token structures, decentralised governance, multi-chain environments. Candidates need to understand what they’re walking into, and your consultant needs to be able to articulate what you’re actually building before they go anywhere near the market.

Generalists can enter this space. But without that context, the drop-off rate on candidates is high. You end up spending time briefing people who bring you profiles that are close-but-not-quite, and the whole process drags.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s done properly, from Brittany Claudius at Etherealize, after we placed an Applied AI Engineer:

“Henry at Plexus always gives thoughtful feedback on our role positioning and what he’s seeing in the market, brings high quality candidates that are well-vetted ahead of time for our needs and culture, and helps us close top talent.”
— Brittany Claudius, Etherealize (NPS 10)

That’s the standard we’re working to on every brief. Market insight, pre-vetted candidates, a consultant who actually understands both the role and the space.

And on the speed question, because we know that matters too:

“Your team is quick to find candidates for us, and the talent you’re finding is excellent. All of my hires have been fantastic.”
— Todd Pinsonneault, Sentora (NPS 10)

Speed comes from knowing the market well enough that you’re not starting from scratch on every search. Quality comes from years of building real relationships within it. The Hot 100 ranking reflects both. Because NFI per head is ultimately a measure of how often that combination results in an actual placement.

THE TL;DR

If you’re evaluating recruitment partners for your next digital assets hire, the Recruiter Hot 100 gives you something rare – an independently verified, financially grounded data point that tells you which firms are actually delivering for clients. Not which ones are best at entering awards.

We’ve been recruiting exclusively in crypto and Web3 since 2017. 45+ consultants, 600k+ candidate database, 300+ placements a year. And now, independently ranked as one of the most productive recruitment firms in the UK.

We think that’s worth knowing!

—

The full Recruiter Hot 100 2025 is published in the March/April 2026 issue of Recruiter Magazine, compiled by Gambit Corporate Finance.

Hiring in digital assets or crypto? Click here to see how we could help.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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What is the Recruiter Hot 100?

The Recruiter Hot 100 is an annual ranking of the top 100 best-performing recruitment firms in the UK. It is compiled by Gambit Corporate Finance, an independent advisory firm specialising in the Human Capital sector, and published each year in Recruiter Magazine. The list is widely regarded as one of the most credible benchmarks in the UK recruitment industry because it is based entirely on verified financial data rather than nominations or submissions.

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How is the Recruiter Hot 100 calculated?

The Recruiter Hot 100 ranks firms using a single financial metric: net fee income (NFI) per employee, also known as gross profit per head. This measures how much fee revenue each employee at a firm generates on average. To qualify for the list, firms must have generated at least £1.5m in gross profit and employ a minimum of 20 people. All data is sourced directly from Companies House filings and analysed independently by Gambit Corporate Finance. Firms cannot apply or self-nominate.

—

What is net fee income per employee?

Net fee income (NFI) per employee is a measure of productivity used in the recruitment industry. It is calculated by dividing a firm’s total gross profit (the fees earned from placements, minus the cost of contractors where applicable) by the total number of employees. A higher NFI per employee indicates a more productive and efficient operation. In 2025, the minimum NFI per employee required to qualify for the Recruiter Hot 100 was £66,288 — a rise of 30.7% on the previous year.

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Why is the Recruiter Hot 100 considered a reputable ranking?

Unlike many industry awards, the Recruiter Hot 100 is not open to submissions, nominations, or panel votes. The ranking is based entirely on publicly available, independently verified financial data from Companies House. This means firms cannot influence their position by how they present themselves — the numbers either qualify them or they don’t. The list is compiled by Gambit Corporate Finance, a specialist advisory firm with no commercial relationship with the firms ranked.

—

Where is Plexus ranked in the Recruiter Hot 100 2025?

Plexus is ranked #30 in the Recruiter Hot 100 2025, published in the March/April 2026 issue of Recruiter Magazine. Plexus is a specialist Web3 and crypto recruitment firm, operating exclusively in the blockchain and digital assets sector since 2017.

—

What does the Recruiter Hot 100 ranking mean for clients hiring in crypto?

A firm’s position on the Recruiter Hot 100 reflects its operational efficiency and the productivity of its consultants — both of which directly affect the quality of service a hiring manager receives. High NFI per employee typically indicates that consultants are successfully placing candidates, not just generating activity. For clients hiring in the specialist Web3 and crypto sector, this is particularly relevant: the talent pool is small, roles are complex, and the difference between a generalist and a true specialist in terms of candidate quality and time-to-hire is significant.

If a risk firm gets paid $2.4 million a year and misses the thing that costs you $236 million, what exactly are you paying for?!

For the second week in a row, we’re talking about DeFi security exploits after the recent KelpDAO bridge hack 🫣

A big DeFi protocol often doesn’t do its own risk management in-house. It pays outside firms millions a year to assess security and be the adults in the room.

An external firm’s job is to deliver a report.

An in-house security lead’s job is to not get hacked.

On paper those two jobs look similar, but when something goes wrong, the external firm can move on to the next client when an in-house person can’t, because they have skin in the game and they’re responsible for anything going wrong.

Every protocol is about to get reevaluated against a new definition of “good,” and good now means someone in-house with the authority to push back and say “No, we’re not shipping like that”.

We’ve been placing talent into roles in this corner of the market properly for a while. A Director of Security at one of DeFi’s leading risk firms, a Head of Security at a major Bitcoin-based shared security protocol and more.

We’re working a Security Engineer role at a major ecosystem infra team right now and the shortlist is pretty thin. People who can actually do this job and have the seniority to push back aren’t sitting on the bench!

So if you read the KelpDAO post-mortem and thought “glad that wasn’t us”, go and check who actually owns security at your protocol. If it’s an external firm plus a mid-level engineer picking it up on top of their other work, you might wanna reassess that.

We’re more than happy to give you a bird’s-eye view of what the security talent landscape looks like right now. Just leave a comment below or send us a DM and we can connect you for a chat this week.

• Junior marketing execution (production heavy content, scheduling, first pass edits)
• Reporting heavy data work (dashboards, KPIs, monitoring that stops at “here are the numbers”)
• Pure execution roles to cover for unclear direction, too many approval steps, or security checks holding things up

AI relocates risk, changing what’s hired

• bad transactions
• exploited flows
• governance incidents
• reputational damage that shows up on crypto twitter or worse, the media

Why the AI x blockchain landscape is accelerating

• permissions (what is the system allowed to do?)
• identity (who or what is acting?)
• audit trails (what happened, exactly?)
• settlement (how does value move safely?)

The hiring map that’s forming for 2026

1: Specialists who own decisions

• content production becomes smaller teams + stronger editors + better tooling
• reporting becomes fewer dashboards, more ownership of decisions
• broad execution hiring becomes a lot more selective

2: New ‘backbone’ hires

• wallets
• trading/execution
• risk engines
• compliance
• security boundaries

Areas of AI x blockchain that will be hiring

1) AI systems that safety proof wallets and transactions

2) Onchain ML for fraud, risk, and integrity

• wash trading patterns
• bridge abuse detection
• MEV and liquidation behaviours
• suspicious flow monitoring

3) AI security for agentic systems

• permission boundaries
• sandboxing
• key management
• secure tool execution
• policy enforcement

4) Auditability, provenance, and “show your work”

• what the system saw
• what it decided
• what it executed
• whether it followed policy

5) DeFi infrastructure roles that cross systems + judgement

• risk engines
• monitoring pipelines
• integrity tooling
• execution policies
• incident response

So what does this mean for crypto hiring in 2026?

If you’re hiring

• anything that can move funds
• anything that can change market outcomes
• anything that can create a security incident
• anything that will be on Crypto Twitter when it goes wrong

If you’re job hunting

Where Plexus fits

If you have ever fired off an application for a Crypto job and wondered whether anyone actually reads it, this one is for you. There is a lot of noise online about AI screening, “broken hiring processes,” and recruiters ignoring perfectly good candidates. The reality is a bit more nuanced.

We sat down with one of our delivery consultants Lauryn Ifill, to lift the lid on what actually goes on behind the scenes when you apply for a Crypto role. Here is what she had to say.

Human vs AI. Who actually reviews your application?

Do you review every application yourself?

Yes. Every single applicant gets looked at by a real person at Plexus. People often assume we batch everything into AI tools, but Web3 is too messy and too fast-moving for that. You’d miss out on great candidates if you didn’t actually dig into their experience.

Does automated screening actually help?

Only for very simple roles. AI still isn’t smart enough to understand Web3 nuance. It can’t tell the difference between someone who has been at a protocol for 6 months because of a market cycle, versus someone who hops every 3 months. It can’t tell what a good project looks like. It doesn’t understand the blurred lines between job titles and actual responsibilities. Helpful for admin tasks, not helpful for judgement.

What would an AI tool miss that you spot instantly?

Tenure. Impact. Context.
In Web3, duration of employment is a massive deal. Some founders want people who grew through multiple cycles with a project. Others want those who were hands-on during very specific periods of success. Standard applicant tracking tools just are not there yet. They see dates. They don’t see meaning.

What actually makes an application worth progressing?

Meeting the requirements. It sounds obvious, but about 90 percent of applicants do not meet even one requirement for the role. For the remaining 10 percent, we look at credibility. Which projects did you contribute to? Did the project grow while you were there? Did you actually drive outcomes?

That is what gets you through.

The practical stuff applicants never see

What gets a CV moved to the “maybe later” pile?

Lack of information. Vague titles like “freelancer.” Completely blank LinkedIn profiles. Anything that looks like you applied on a whim. If we have 1000+ applicants to get through, naturally we are going to prioritise the people who lay out their experience clearly.

What makes you fast-track someone?

Crypto is a name game. If you have worked for a strong brand or protocol, yes it helps. But it still has to match the role. A defi protocol background won’t necessarily help for an RWA project. Fast tracking applicants only happens when your experience aligns perfectly with what the project needs at that time.

How often do you recalibrate with the hiring manager?

All the time. There is a lot of noise on LinkedIn about roles being reposted after people get rejected. Usually this is just because the business has realised new requirements after the first interview rounds. Web3 priorities shift fast. A search might be completely recalibrated halfway through if the business needs have changed. It is not incompetence. It is the nature of a young, rapidly evolving industry.

How strict are founders about requirements?

Extremely. These teams are still small and every early hire has a direct impact on whether the project sinks or scales. This is not the environment for speculative hires or “potential.” Founders want safe hands with a proven track record.

Advice for applicants

The biggest mistake candidates make

Applying for roles they are not qualified for. All it does is inflate your rejection count. If you genuinely believe you can add value despite not meeting the listed experience, you should speak directly to the founder, not a recruiter.

What makes a CV easy to champion?

Real impact. Strong projects. Tangible evidence of success and growth.

You can ignore the CV coaches and AI polishing tools. Pretty formatting won’t fix weak experience. Recruiters and founders care about what you have done, not how glossy your document looks.

Final thoughts

A lot of the mystery around Web3 hiring comes from the fact that people assume there is some secret filtering process happening behind the curtain. In reality, most of it still relies on human decision-making, constant communication with founders, and a very clear understanding of what makes someone genuinely qualified.

If you take anything away from this, let it be this.
Match the requirements. Show your impact. Make your experience easy to understand.

Do that, and you are already ahead of 90 percent of applicants in Web3.

How to Hire a CTO in Crypto: Insights from Crypto Headhunters

Hiring a Chief Technology Officer in crypto isn’t easy. Competition is fierce, and the people you want are usually already founders or sitting on serious equity.

To unpack what actually works when hiring senior technical leaders in Web3, I spoke with Aaron Harrison, Delivery Manager at Plexus, who’s spent years headhunting CTOs for DeFi, infrastructure, and Layer 2 projects.

Here’s what he’s learned about finding, engaging, and securing a great Crypto CTO.

Web3 CTOs are different

“The biggest difference between a Web3 CTO and a Web2 CTO? They’re still builders,” Aaron told me.

In Web2, CTOs often step back from the codebase and become pure people managers. In crypto, that’s not really an option.

“Most of these CTOs have come straight from being super hands-on. If a project has six engineers, you can bet the CTO is still coding, doing reviews, and architecting,” he said.

It makes sense. Most Web3 companies are smaller and earlier stage, which means their tech leaders need to be both strategic and technical. A good crypto CTO is part visionary, part engineer.

Why it’s so hard to hire a crypto CTO

“It’s always competitive,” Aaron said. “The best CTOs are usually co-founders. Why would they leave?”

That’s the reality. In Web3, many of the top tech leaders already have equity or tokens that tie them in long-term. So getting them to move takes more than just money.

Aaron explained that the right moment to approach someone is often when their current company has plateaued.

“If a project’s growth has stalled or their token’s fully vested, that’s when they might start looking for something new,” he said.

This is where the best recruiters earn their money. You need to know which projects are slowing down, which are thriving, and where the next opportunity lies for someone who wants a new challenge.

What actually motivates a CTO to move

“It’s the vision,” Aaron said. “CTOs don’t leave for a pay rise. They move when they believe in what the company’s building and want a stake in it.”

He’s seen it again and again. For top technical talent, money isn’t the driving factor. The work, the mission, and the potential upside are what matter.

“The role and responsibilities of a CTO don’t really change that much,” he said. “What changes is the vision of the business and the trajectory it’s on.”

If you’re hiring a CTO in crypto, you need to be able to tell a clear story about what you’re building and why it matters. The vague ‘we’re revolutionising finance’ spiel doesn’t cut it. They want substance.

The biggest challenge in the process

“They’re busy,” Aaron said, laughing. “CTOs at early-stage projects are some of the busiest people in the world.”

Because of that, Aaron sets what he calls “rules of engagement” early on.

“You can’t just call them all the time. I set expectations around when to talk, how to keep things private, and what works best for their schedule,” he said. “It keeps everything efficient and respectful.”

That kind of professionalism goes a long way in this industry. Crypto is small, and reputation matters.

Where great crypto CTOs come from

While some are pure Web3 natives, Aaron often looks at what he calls “Web 2.5” talent.

“We target people at companies like on-ramps or off-ramps, or fintechs with crypto offerings,” he explained. “They understand traditional systems but already have exposure to blockchain.”

This hybrid background often makes them ideal hires for projects that need to scale fast but still want solid engineering foundations.

The rise of the public-facing CTO

Another trend Aaron’s seeing is the rise of the “brand CTO”.

“In crypto, most people know the CTOs behind big projects,” he said. “They become the spokesperson for the business and the tech. Sometimes they’re even more recognised than the CEO.”

That means a great Web3 CTO today needs more than just technical depth. They need to be able to communicate – whether that’s on stage at a conference, in community AMAs, or when explaining the product to investors.

What makes Plexus good at CTO headhunting

So how does Plexus consistently place high-level technical leaders in one of the most competitive markets out there?

According to Aaron, it comes down to three things:

1. Relationships.
“We speak to CTOs every day. Whether they’re hiring or not, we’ve built strong, long-term relationships with most of the major players.”

2. Understanding the tech.
“We don’t just read a job description. We actually understand what these companies are building and can explain it properly.”

3. Selling the vision.
“For a CTO, it’s not just about the day-to-day. It’s about the bigger picture. The mission, the upside, the impact. We can bring that to life.”

Key takeaways for founders hiring in Web3

If you’re building a crypto company and looking for a CTO, here’s what to keep in mind:

✅ Hire someone who’s still close to the tech.
✅ Lead with your vision, not just the salary.
✅ Respect their time and keep communication structured.
✅ Be able to explain why your project actually matters.

At Plexus, we’ve been helping Web3 companies find the right technical leadership since 2017.

If you’re a founder looking for someone who can take your project from idea to impact, click here to book a call and explore your options.

We’re sourcing the very best in Web3 talent.

Hiring in crypto is a challenge. Fast-moving market, global competition, fake CVs, and high expectations from both founders and candidates. Getting it wrong costs time and money – getting it right can define your entire product roadmap.

Plexus has been recruiting in Web3 since 2017, helping founders build high-performing teams across DeFi, infrastructure, gaming, Layer 1s, Layer 2s, and everything in between.

Trusted by Top Crypto Projects

We’ve helped scale teams for:

zkSync, Lido, Celestia, Filecoin, dYdX Foundation, Galxe, Frax, Maple, Euler, Berachain, Sophon, Omni, Movement, Plume, The Sandbox, and more.

From pre-seed to post-raise, we’ve supported companies at every stage of growth.

Why Leading Web3 Teams Work With Us

Specialists, Not Generalists

Every Plexus consultant focuses on a specific niche — so you’re never dealing with someone who’s just Googled “Solidity.”

You’ll work with someone who gets your stack and understands your hiring needs.

Examples:

• Smart contract engineers in the Solana ecosystem
• US-based BD and partnerships roles
• Solidity devs for DeFi protocols
• Product managers for ZK infrastructure
• Founding marketers for Layer 1s

We Have Real Scale

This isn’t a one-person show.

• 45+ recruiters covering global roles
• 100+ active open roles at any one time
• 300+ successful placements per year

We’ve got the team, infrastructure, and delivery power to help you grow, fast.

Whether you’re hiring one role or twenty, we’ve got the bandwidth and processes to support you without sacrificing quality.

Boost your hiring initiatives by knowing the average salaries for crypto roles with our new Crypto Salary Benchmarking Calculator.

Boutique Service, Big Agency Scale

Here’s what sets us apart:

• 45+ recruiters working globally
• 100+ active roles live at any one time
• 300+ placements made every year
• A candidate database of over 600,000 people
• Offices in London and Miami

We combine the high-touch service of a boutique firm with the scale, systems, and delivery capability of a larger agency.

You’ll get a dedicated point of contact and a team behind them who can handle multiple roles at speed, without compromising quality.

We Filter the Noise

Around 10% of Web3 applicants are fake – AI-generated CVs, borrowed GitHubs, you name it. We catch them before they ever reach your inbox.

Our vetting process includes:

• Deep-dive technical screening
• On-chain activity checks
• Communication and culture fit reviews

Only strong, qualified candidates make it through.

We’re Global

With offices in London and now Miami, we’ve got a worldwide reach, placing talent across the UK, US, Europe, Asia, and LatAm.

No matter where you’re building, we know the local talent market, comp benchmarks, and how to move fast.

TL;DR

If you’re building a Web3 team and want a recruitment partner who:

• Understands the crypto ecosystem
• Has global reach and proven delivery power
• Can support multiple hires with specialist insight

We’re ready when you are. Book a call with one of our consultants!

Every time the crypto market appears to take a downturn, the same question is asked: ‘Is cryptocurrency dead?’ With regulatory crackdowns, high-profile collapses, and price volatility, it’s easy to see these concerns and questions have arisen. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that crypto is no stranger to dramatic highs and lows.

Bitcoin, for example, has been declared “dead” countless times, yet it continues to bounce back – something we explored in our recent article. But what about cryptocurrency as a whole? Has the entire industry peaked, or is it simply evolving? 

Let’s explore cryptocurrency, answering the all important questions, such as ‘is crypto dead?’ and ‘why is crypto crashing and will it recover?’ to find out whether there’s any truth behind the headlines.

What is cryptocurrency?

In case you’ve been living under a rock, let’s give a brief explanation of what cryptocurrency is. Cryptocurrency, otherwise known as crypto, is a digital currency that operates independently of central banks, using cryptographic technology to secure transactions. Unlike traditional currencies issued by governments, cryptocurrencies operate on decentralised networks, typically built on blockchain technology. All of this means that no central authority owns the currency, and makes it highly secure, transparent, and resistant to fraud or manipulation. 

Probably the two most well-known examples of cryptocurrency are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, created in 2009 as a decentralised digital alternative to traditional money. Ethereum, launched in 2015, goes beyond digital currency by enabling smart contracts – self-executing agreements that power dApps, DeFi, and NFTs. While Bitcoin focuses on secure, peer-to-peer transactions, Ethereum’s flexibility has made it the foundation for much of the modern blockchain ecosystem.

Crypto’s boom and bust cycles

Cryptocurrency has always been a volatile market, experiencing huge increases and sharp declines. While skeptics often see each trough as the end of crypto, history shows that these cycles are a natural part of the industry’s evolution. 

The 2018 bear market followed Bitcoin’s extensive rise to nearly $20,000 in 2017, only to see it crash by over 80% soon after. More recently, the 2022 FTX collapse sent shockwaves through the market, reducing value by billions of dollars and hugely knocking investor confidence. However, crypto eventually rebounded in both cases, proving its resilience.

Much like with traditional finance, the crypto market follows cycles, shaped by factors such as speculation, adoption, and wider economic trends. While the media often blows downturns out of proportion, the bigger picture shows that crypto has a habit of bouncing back, evolving, and coming back even stronger after each dip.

Why is crypto crashing and will it recover?

So, now we know that it’s likely this recent dip in cryptocurrency is no more than a bump in the road, let’s explore the reasons behind the crash and learn whether or not it will recover. These recent fluctuations in cryptocurrency have been caused by a number of different things, including regulatory crackdowns, huge high-profile hacks and rising interest rates.

However, as we have already mentioned, history suggests that recovery is possible. In fact, according to Binance.com, ‘every market crash has been followed by a period of rebirth.’  Past crashes, such as the 2018 bear market, were followed by periods of innovation and renewed investor interest. While experts remain divided on the pace of recovery, many believe that as the industry matures and regulatory clarity improves, confidence will return. 

How will crypto recover?

The road to recovery for cryptocurrency lies in several key factors: regulation, institutional adoption, and technological advancements. As the market continues to fluctuate, it’s important to understand what will drive its resurgence and long-term growth. Let’s explore how regulation and adoption by major institutions, along with advancements in blockchain technology, will shape the future of crypto.

Regulatory changes

Regulation remains one of the biggest factors in whether or not crypto will fail or fly. While some fear that increased oversight could stifle innovation, others argue that clear regulations will strengthen the industry by increasing investor confidence and reducing fraud. Finding a balance between over- and under-regulation is essential to the continuation of cryptocurrencies across the globe.

Institutional adoption

Another important factor behind the future success of cryptocurrency is the institutional adoption. Luckily for crypto investors, major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity are already entering the space, legitimising it as an asset class. Governments worldwide are also exploring digital asset frameworks, suggesting that regulation may help integrate crypto into mainstream finance rather than eliminate it.

Crypto is also becoming more integrated into traditional finance systems. Big banks are starting to experiment with tokenised assets, helping to bring much-needed stability to the market.

Technological and industry developments

Blockchain technology is quickly evolving and driving change across a wide range of industries. Beyond just digital currencies, innovations like DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and gaming are opening up new ways to use and benefit from blockchain. These developments are transforming crypto from simply being a store of value into something that has real-world applications.

At the same time, Layer 2 solutions are tackling the scalability issues that have long been a challenge for blockchain networks. Tools like Ethereum’s rollups and the Lightning Network are helping to ease congestion and speed up transactions, making blockchain technology more usable in everyday life.

How can Plexus RS help?

So, is crypto dying? We don’t think so. In fact, we believe the opposite. The world is entering a new digital age, and we will start to see cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin thrive once again!

Crypto and Web3 are evolving, and companies need the right talent to navigate the changes. Plexus RS connects businesses with top-tier professionals who can drive growth in blockchain, DeFi, and digital assets.

Whether you’re a company looking for specialists or a professional seeking opportunities, Plexus RS is positioned to help you succeed. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you!

Over the past 90 days, we analysed 221 of our live vacancies across the crypto space.

And the most in-demand role?

Marketing.

Yes, more than smart contract engineers, more than front-end devs, more than business development. 

Marketing took the top spot!

And within those roles, a pattern emerged:
“X amount of followers.”
“Someone with a voice.”
“Someone who isn’t afraid to be the new face of our product.”

So why is marketing the hottest hire in Web3 right now – and why is an industry that’s built on anonymity suddenly making personal brand a requirement?

To understand the shift, you have to understand the current state of crypto.

The Current State of Crypto: We were building, now we’re selling

Momentum is back in Web3. And some projects have managed to capture that much-coveted mindshare of the crypto audience.

Projects with deep pockets are investing heavily in pay-to-play promotions on platforms like Kaito or Cookie3, where brands pay verified KOLs (key opinion leaders) to tweet, discuss, or “yap” about their project.

It’s influencer marketing for crypto – at scale.

And while it drives reach quickly, it’s not cheap. It favours already-funded projects that can afford to flood the feed.

Then there are airdrops.

Take Hyperliquid. They gained phenomenal support and a wave of new users by airdropping over $7 billion worth of HYPE tokens to early users. It rewarded loyalty, drove huge buzz, and put them front and centre in the crypto conversation.

Phantom Wallet, Safe, and Rainbow have also leaned hard into community-led growth and strong UX-driven comms. Even Optimism and Polygon have reworked their GTM strategies, pushing new narratives to stand out in a crowded L2 space.

The result?

Projects are finally accepting that great tech alone doesn’t drive traction.

You need a voice. A story. A reason to care.

The Crypto Marketing boom

We’re seeing a clear trend: founders want marketers with personal brands.

They’re not hiring someone to sit behind a dashboard and optimise ads.

They want someone who can:

• Own the narrative
• Host Twitter Spaces
• Show up at events
• Get quoted on podcasts
• Be the face of the brand

In crypto, being a CMO today means being public-facing, strategic, and loud (in the best way). And for early-stage teams without big airdrops or pay-to-play campaign budgets, a CMO with a strong personal brand is a distribution hack.

They bring:

• Established networks: Access to real audiences across X, Farcaster, Discord and more
• Authentic voice: They shape the narrative, not just repeat it
• Community trust: Instant credibility in a trust-sceptical industry

In short, they’re part brand builder, part ambassador, part KOL.

How Do You Find Crypto Marketing Candidates?

Finding a marketer with a strong personal brand, real on-chain knowledge, and the ability to front a project isn’t easy – but it’s what we do.

Here’s how:

We don’t just search CVs – we search timelines

We spend time on Crypto Twitter, Farcaster, Telegram – wherever the real conversations are happening.
If someone’s shaping narratives and building community in public, we notice.

We look beyond job titles

Some of the best candidates don’t have “CMO” in their title – yet.
They might be leading growth at a DAO, building a high-signal newsletter, or running a meme account with insane reach. We look at impact, not labels.

We vet for context

Voice matters – but only if it’s backed by understanding.
We screen for people who get the tech (rollups, restaking, TGE) and can talk about it clearly, without jargon.

We already know them

We’ve placed them. Hired them. Worked with them.
Across DeFi, infra, L1s, NFTs, we’ve built the network, and we know who’s quietly (or loudly) crushing it.

Hiring a marketing lead in crypto isn’t about finding someone who looks good on paper.
It’s about someone who has trust, attention, and context, and knows how to use all three.

Marketing in Web3

Marketing has always mattered. But in Web3, it’s evolved into something else entirely – part KOL, part educator, part brand ambassador.

Right now, the best projects understand that attention is currency.
And the best marketers don’t just bring skills, they bring distribution, credibility, and a voice that cuts through the noise.

So whether you’re a stealth startup preparing to launch, or a protocol looking to scale, make sure you’re hiring for what the role actually demands today, not what it meant two years ago.

Need help finding a Crypto Marketer?

We’ve placed Heads of Marketing, CMOs, and Growth Leads across DeFi, L1s, infra, and NFTs.

Drop us a message and let’s find the voice of your brand.

Plexus keeps a close eye on senior dev salaries, and over the past few years we’ve seen an interesting trend grow right in front of our eyes.

These are senior developer salaries for the Rust, Solidity, and Go (Golang) programming languages. Rust and Solidity salaries are steadily rising, while Golang senior salaries are moving slightly downward.

What’s it all mean? Plexus talked to Thomas Tyrie, one of our consultants, to get his take. Get an overview of where these trends are coming from, what it all means, and how it relates to the broader industry in the article below.

Origins and Use Cases

Before we jump in, it’s worth a quick look at what Rust, Solidity, and Golang are and how they are used in the blockchain and web3 world.

Go (Golang)

Origin and Purpose

Go, aka Golang, was released by Google in 2009. It was designed to be simple, efficient, and easy to read, primarily targeting system programming, large-scale software, and web development.

Key Features

• Simplicity– straightforward syntax that is easy to learn and read.
• Concurrency – built-in support for concurrent programming using goroutines, which are lightweight threads managed by the Go runtime.
• Performance – compiled to machine code, making it fast and efficient.
• Garbage Collection – automatic memory management to prevent memory leaks.
• Standard Library – extensive and robust standard library facilitates rapid development.

Rust

Origin and Purpose

Rust was developed by Mozilla and first released in 2010. It aims to provide safety and performance, making it suitable for system-level programming.

Key Features

• Memory Safety: Ensures memory safety without a garbage collector through a system of ownership with rules checked at compile time.
• Performance: As a compiled language, it provides performance comparable to C and C++.
• Concurrency: Offers safe concurrency without data races, which are common issues in concurrent programming.
• Zero-Cost Abstractions: Allows high-level abstractions without the overhead typically associated with them.
• Community and Ecosystem: Strong community support and growing ecosystem, especially in systems programming and web assembly.

Solidity

Origin and Purpose

Solidity was developed by contributors to the Ethereum project and first appeared in 2014. It is specifically designed for writing smart contracts on blockchain platforms, particularly Ethereum.

Key Features

• Smart Contracts: Tailored for creating and deploying smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.
• Syntax: Similar to JavaScript, making it accessible for developers familiar with web development.
• Blockchain Interaction: Includes features for interacting with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), such as event logging and contract calls.
• Security: Emphasizes secure coding practices to prevent common vulnerabilities in smart contracts.
• Decentralization: Used in decentralized applications (DApps) and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) projects.

Three Reasons for Rust & Solidity

Why are Rust and Solidity senior salaries on the upswing? Thomas identifies three primary reasons.

Market maturity

First, the broader crypto market is both larger and more mature than it used to be. While the total market cap ($2.48 trillion at time of writing) hasn’t fully returned to the heights of 2021, the market is nevertheless vastly improved from recent lows.

And as the market grows, it matures. Thomas says, “As the web3 space expands and protocols mature, there’s a high demand for skilled senior engineers, driving up salaries significantly.”

Put simply, senior projects demand senior engineers. And a more mature market produces more engineers with the skillset to qualify as such. Rust and Solidity are both mature languages (over a decade for Solidity, the newer of the two) being used in increasingly sophisticated applications. 

Supply and Demand

Thomas identifies the second reason as straightforward supply-and-demand. 

The most sophisticated projects in web3 and crypto – often programmed in Rust and Solidity – are attracting “substantial capital backing,” as Thomas observes. That backing results in a demand for skilled programmers, “leading to attractive offers for top talent.” 

In essence, a mature market is putting demand-side pressure on the equation. Even a short-term rush of new engineers isn’t going to immediately impact the supply of the senior developers needed to produce the next round of high-level applications. 

Solana’s comeback

A rising tide lifts all boats. It’s no surprise that the crypto economy is on the rebound with Bitcoin in the lead. But it might be a little easier to miss some other major comebacks, such as Solana’s recent return:

And since Solana is primarily Rust-based, it’s easy to note the correlation between Solana’s rebound and the rise in Rust developer salaries.

On its own, that’s probably not enough to drive senior dev salaries higher; combined with broader market conditions and the overall demand, Solana’s performance has added to the competition for senior software engineers.

Why Golang Salaries are currently lower – And why they may rise

What about Golang?

Rust and Solidity senior devs are seeing higher salaries – but Golang senior engineers have slipped back a bit. 

That’s partly because Golang, unlike the others, is still largely a language of web2, not web3. Thus, there’s a larger pool of both senior and junior developers. Greater supply, not as much demand in the crypto and blockchain markets, equals slightly lower high-end rates. 

As Thomas states,

Golang’s slight salary plateau might be due to its widespread use in web2, resulting in a larger pool of developers and lower scarcity. Additionally, grassroots projects in ecosystems like COSMOS, with successful launches and migrations, are hiring more junior talent, influencing salary trends.

Is this the best Golang senior devs can hope for? Not exactly. Golang is steadily growing in the crypto space, and projects like COSMOS and Hyperledger Fabric certainly have room for growth. As those projects mature and expand their own ecosystems, they could push the demand for crypto-focused Golang senior devs higher.

Outlook: Positive on all fronts

We’re seeing new developer jobs for all three programming languages. Solidity and Rust are leading with the salary increase trend, but Golang continues to have steady job demand and developers with that language can command competitive salaries in the space as a whole. 

Solidity remains the most commonly used language for blockchain applications, particularly for Ethereum and Ethereum-compatible blockchains. Its usage is expected to grow with the continued expansion of the Ethereum ecosystem. Senior Solidity devs can tap into up to a decade of experience and a comparatively small pool of engineers to command salaries that are steadily growing.

Rust is gaining traction, especially for developing high-performance blockchain protocols and platforms like Polkadot and Solana. Its usage is also expected to grow as these platforms mature and new projects adopt Rust for its performance and safety benefits. Senior Rust developer salaries are following suit.

Golang continues to play a growing role in the web3 world, though it remains bigger in web2. It does have a role in various blockchain and crypto projects, particularly for building the underlying infrastructure and supporting tools. Its features make it a suitable choice for developing efficient, concurrent, and scalable blockchain systems. The broader pool of engineers and crossover between web2 and web3 projects means that – for now – senior Golang developers aren’t seeing the same salaries as Rust and Solidity devs. That could change, and quickly, as more Golang projects grow in the web3 space.

Are you a software engineer with experience in Solidity, Rust, or Golang? Interested to learn what opportunities are available for senior developers? Reach out to our recruitment team or view our job listings.