The U.S. crypto industry employs only about 34,000 people directly, but it is expected to contribute $55 billion to the U.S. economy in 2026, according to a new report published by the National Cryptocurrency Association and Pragmatic Policy Group.
A small workforce by headcount
The report, titled Crypto at Work, says it is the first comprehensive study of crypto’s footprint in the U.S. labor market. By direct employment, the sector is still small. The report compares its 34,000 direct jobs with coffee and tea manufacturing, which has 28,400 jobs, and tobacco manufacturing, which has 10,600.
That comparison places crypto well below the scale typically associated with a major American industry, at least in raw employment terms.
High wages and broader labor spillovers
According to the report, jobs in the crypto sector pay an average of $133,000 a year. That is more than double the U.S. national median wage of $64,000, and above average pay in both tech and manufacturing.
The study also says crypto employment is not limited to the tech industry and that the sector directly supports more jobs than several key manufacturing industries.
Each direct job supports roughly six more
Using a standard input-output economic model, Pragmatic Policy Group estimated that every direct crypto job supports roughly six additional jobs elsewhere in the economy. Those jobs include positions at suppliers and at businesses where crypto workers spend their wages.
Once indirect and induced jobs are added to the direct total, the report puts the number of jobs supported by the industry at 232,000.
Jobs are concentrated in a few states
The report says crypto employment is geographically uneven. California, New York, and Texas account for 60% of all crypto jobs, with 57,600, 53,800, and 26,500 jobs respectively.
Heartland states, including Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, together support just over 17,000 jobs.
The study identifies Colorado and North Dakota as rising hubs. It links Colorado’s position to crypto-friendly tax policy and companies including Riot Platforms and Crusoe Energy. In North Dakota, it points to flare-gas mining operations and a pilot stablecoin from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.
Built on 2024 federal data, with stated limits
Pragmatic Policy Group describes the study as the first economy-wide look at crypto’s labor market impact in the United States. It says the analysis was built using 2024 data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The firm also noted a limitation in its own method. Because there is not yet a dedicated workforce profile for crypto, it modeled crypto financial activity using the occupational mix of broader technology industries rather than traditional finance.
NCA says the findings are meant for policymakers
NCA, which funded the research, said it hopes the report gives policymakers an evidence-based view of the sector’s economic contribution. The nonprofit was launched in 2025 to promote what it describes as safe, informed cryptocurrency adoption in the United States.
The report was covered by Bitcoin Magazine in a piece written by Mathew Di Salvo.