According to a report by Venture Capital Company Pantera Capital, the number of crypto experts receiving salaries on digital assets tripled over the past year, with 9.6% being paid in Stablecoins.
Based on responses from over 1,600 people from 77 crypto experts, the report shows the shift to a blockchain-native pay system and the growing institutional trust in dollar-supported assets such as USDC Coin (USDC) and USDT (USDT).
Circle's USDC leads, and despite Tether's USDT being the most traded Stablecoin worldwide, it still accounts for 63% of all crypto salaries.
“Initially, I thought this was due to the more Western distorted research,” the report said. “After digging further, it turns out to be very interesting that the major payroll providers in the space (deal, remote, rip ring) are not offering USDT for their pay.”
In total, two stubcoins accounted for more than 90% of reported payments. According to Defillama, all Stablecoins' total market capitalization was $268.6 billion at the time of writing.
Source: Pantera Capital Report
The report shows that token-based compensation is increasingly structured around long-term consistency, with almost 88% of its four-year vesting schedule now set at four years, from 64% the previous year.
The findings suggest that in the blockchain industry, practical experience and technical expertise often outweigh academic qualifications. The bachelor's degree professional earned an average salary of $286,039. This is especially higher than $214,359 for a Masters degree and $226,858 for a Ph.D.
Percentage of people paid with encryption. Source: Pantera Capital Report
Circle Enterprise Push
Circle actively places USDC as a core tool for institutional payments, payroll and B2B financial infrastructure, as well as trading.
In March 2024, the company partnered with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, to investigate the integration of tokenization funds in the USDC and global derivatives markets.
Two months later, Circle applied for the Federal Trust Bank Charter with the Secretary of Currency, part of its long-term strategy to provide regulated infrastructure for Stablecoin Payments, Custody and settlements.
In July, US President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act and established a bipartisan regulatory framework for silly publishers like circles. Supporters of the bill cited it as a USDC-compliant model for digital dollars.
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