The U.S. cryptocurrency industry directly employs about 34,000 people and supports an estimated 232,000 jobs across the broader economy, according to a new report commissioned by the National Cryptocurrency Association.
Summary
- NCA estimates U.S. crypto directly employs 34,000 people while supporting 232,000 jobs economywide in 2026.
- The report projects crypto will contribute $55 billion to U.S. GDP and $31 billion income.
- California and New York lead supported employment, while engineering remains crypto’s largest direct occupational group.
The study also estimates that crypto-related activity will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2026.
Pragmatic Policy Group conducted the analysis for the NCA, which funded the research. The report separates direct jobs at crypto companies from jobs supported through suppliers and worker spending. It estimates that about $31 billion of the industry’s total economic contribution flows to workers as income.
The report places direct employment at crypto companies at 34,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2026. Software, blockchain and data engineering form the largest direct job group, with about 10,100 roles. Compliance, finance and business operations account for another 5,450 positions, while executives and managers make up about 5,100.
The study compares the direct crypto workforce with several traditional industries. It lists 28,400 jobs in coffee and tea manufacturing, 15,300 in cement manufacturing and 10,600 in tobacco manufacturing. Most benchmark figures come from 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, while the crypto estimate covers 2026. The report also puts the average annual wage across all supported jobs at $133,000, versus a $64,000 national median.
Within direct employment, the study also counts 2,470 sales and business development roles, 1,480 hardware and systems engineering jobs, and 1,160 legal and regulatory positions across the industry.
Most supported jobs sit outside crypto companies
The 232,000 total includes 75,000 jobs in supplier industries and another 123,000 jobs linked to worker spending. The report says every direct crypto job supports about six other jobs across the broader U.S. economy. These roles can include workers in cloud services, legal services, insurance, housing, transportation and restaurants.
The total therefore does not represent 232,000 people employed by crypto businesses. The report’s appendix says the figure reflects standard economic multiplier effects. It also estimates that crypto will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. GDP in 2026, including about $31 billion in worker income. Securities, commodity contracts and investments form the largest sector in the model.
In addition, California accounts for an estimated 57,649 supported jobs, while New York accounts for 53,766. Together, the two states represent close to half of the national total. Texas follows with 26,536 jobs, while Washington has 15,097 and North Carolina has 9,524.
The report also estimates that the 12 states it defines as the Heartland support more than 17,000 jobs combined. Colorado accounts for about 5,797 supported jobs and $1.3 billion in economic contribution. These state figures include direct crypto employment, supplier jobs and positions supported through household spending rather than only payroll headcounts at blockchain companies.
Report lands amid mixed crypto hiring trends
The NCA released the study while employment trends inside individual crypto companies remain mixed. As crypto.news reported in March, Gemini, Crypto.com and Algorand were among several firms that announced workforce cuts in early 2026. More recently, Exodus cut about 25% of its workforce as it reorganized around stablecoin payments, while Polygon Labs also reduced staff during its Coinme integration.
Those company-level cuts do not directly contradict the NCA estimate because the study measures a broader economic footprint and relies on modeling rather than a live industry headcount. The model uses 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis input-output tables, Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a $23.22 billion U.S. crypto industry revenue estimate sourced from Statista.
Because the Bureau of Economic Analysis does not classify crypto as a standalone industry, Pragmatic Policy Group mapped crypto businesses into existing sectors. The report says it allocated most financial-related crypto revenue to securities and commodity contracts, with a smaller share assigned to data processing and internet publishing. The model also assumes that 2024 production relationships remain in place.
The NCA funded the research, while Pragmatic Policy Group described the work as independent analysis. NCA President and Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty called the sector a “real, positive” contributor to American jobs, wages and economic growth. As crypto.news previously reported, a separate NCA survey estimated that more than 67 million U.S. adults now own crypto.
The report gives two different measures of the industry’s labor reach. The direct figure stands at 34,000 jobs. The broader 232,000 estimate adds supplier employment and jobs supported by worker spending across the economy.
