Report: U.S. crypto industry supports 232,000 jobs and contributes US$55 billion to the economy

The U.S. cryptocurrency industry directly employs approximately 34,000 people and supports approximately 232,000 jobs across the economy

According to the latest report commissioned by the National Cryptocurrency Association, the U.S. cryptocurrency industry directly employs approximately 34,000 people and supports approximately 232,000 jobs across the broader economy. [TAG

Core Summary

The National Cryptocurrency Association estimates that the U.S. cryptocurrency industry will directly employ 34,000 people in 2026 while supporting 232,000 jobs across the economy. The report predicts that cryptocurrencies will contribute $55 billion to U.S. GDP and generate $31 billion in revenue. California and New York led the way in supporting employment, while the engineering category remained cryptocurrency's largest direct occupational group.

The study also estimates that cryptocurrency-related activities will contribute more than $55 billion to the U.S. GDP by 2026. The pragmatic policy group was funded by the National Cryptocurrency Association to conduct this analysis. The report distinguishes direct jobs in cryptocurrency companies from jobs supported through supplier and employee spending. It is estimated that approximately US$31 billion of the industry's total economic contribution flows to workers in the form of income.

The report shows that the direct full-time equivalent jobs of cryptocurrency companies in 2026 will be 34,000. Software, blockchain and data engineering constitute the largest direct employment group, with approximately 10,100 jobs. There are approximately 5450 compliance, finance and business operations positions, while there are approximately 5100 executive and manager positions.

The study compares the direct cryptocurrency workforce with several traditional industries. It lists 28,400 jobs in coffee and tea manufacturing, 15,300 jobs in cement manufacturing and 10,600 jobs in tobacco manufacturing. Most benchmark data comes from 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics, while estimates for cryptocurrencies cover 2026. The report also pointed out that the average annual salary for all support positions is $133,000, compared with the national median of $64,000.

In direct employment, the study also counted 2470 sales and business development positions, 1480 hardware and systems engineering positions, and 1160 legal and regulatory positions.

Most of the supporting positions are located outside cryptocurrency companies.

The total of 232,000 positions includes 75,000 positions in the supplier industry and another 123,000 positions related to employee expenses. The report states that each direct cryptocurrency job supports about six other jobs in the broader U.S. economy. These positions may include workers in cloud services, legal services, insurance, housing, transportation and catering industries.

Therefore, this total does not mean that 232,000 people are employed by cryptocurrency companies. An appendix to the report notes that the data reflects standard economic multiplier effects. It also estimates that cryptocurrencies will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. GDP in 2026, including approximately $31 billion in worker income. Securities, commodity contracts and investment became the largest industries in the model.

In addition, California is expected to support 57,649 jobs, while New York State supports 53,766 jobs. The two states together account for about half of the national total. Texas followed closely with 26,536 jobs, Washington State with 15,097 and North Carolina with 9524.

The report also estimates that the 12 states defined as the "heartland" together support more than 17,000 jobs. Colorado supports approximately 5797 jobs and contributes US$1.3 billion to the economy. Data for these states include direct cryptocurrency employment, supplier jobs, and jobs supported through household spending, not just the number of employees at blockchain companies.

The report comes as cryptocurrency hiring trends are mixed

When the National Cryptocurrency Association released this study, employment trends within cryptocurrency companies remained mixed. In early 2026, several companies including Gemini, Crypto.com and Algorand announced layoffs. Recently, Exodus laid off about 25% of its employees during a reorganization around stablecoin payments, while Polygon Labs also laid off employees during its integration with Coinme.

These company-level layoffs do not directly contradict the National Cryptocurrency Association's estimates, as the study measures broader economic footprints and relies on models rather than real-time industry headcount. The model uses the 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis's input-output table, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and a $23.22 billion U.S. cryptocurrency industry revenue estimate from Statista.

Since the Bureau of Economic Analysis did not list cryptocurrency as an independent industry, the Practical Policy Group mapped cryptocurrency companies to existing industries. The report stated that it allocates most of its financial-related cryptocurrency revenue to securities and commodity contracts, and a smaller portion to data processing and Internet publishing. The model also assumes that production relations will remain unchanged in 2024.

The National Cryptocurrency Association funded the study, while the Practical Policy Group described it as an independent analysis. Stuart Alderoty, president of the National Cryptocurrency Association and chief legal officer of Ripple, called the industry a "real and positive" contributor to U.S. jobs, wages and economic growth. Another previous survey commissioned by the National Cryptocurrency Association estimated that more than 67 million U.S. adults now own cryptocurrencies.

The report provides two measures of labor coverage in the industry. The direct employment figure is 34,000 jobs. A broader estimate of 232,000 includes supplier employment and jobs supported by employee spending across the economy.