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, an industry advocacy group launched in 2025. The study, titled "Crypto at Work," estimates that crypto-related activity will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2026, including approximately $31 billion in worker income.

Pragmatic Policy Group conducted the analysis for the NCA, which funded the research. The full report is available here.

The report separates direct jobs at crypto companies from those supported through suppliers and worker spending, providing two distinct measures of the industry's labor footprint. The direct figure stands at 34,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2026, while the broader 232,000 estimate adds supplier employment and positions sustained by worker spending throughout the economy.

NCA President and Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty described the sector as a "real, positive" contributor to American jobs, wages, and economic growth.

The NCA announced the findings on July 22, 2026:

📣 NEW Crypto Research: The NCA's Crypto at Work report is live. For the first time, we've mapped the full economic footprint of crypto in America: jobs, wages, and impact across all 50 states. 232,000 American jobs. That's how many the crypto industry supports today. Explore… pic.twitter.com/FSWZLDz3d7
— National Cryptocurrency Association (@NatCryptoAssoc) July 22, 2026

Direct Employment Breakdown

Software, blockchain, and data engineering form the largest direct occupational group, with about 10,100 roles. Compliance, finance, and business operations account for another 5,450 positions, while executives and managers make up approximately 5,100. The report 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. The relatively large share of compliance and legal roles reflects the regulatory intensification the sector has faced in recent years, particularly as firms expand operations under evolving federal and state frameworks.

For context, 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 are drawn from 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, while the crypto estimate covers 2026.

Broader Economic Footprint

The 232,000 total includes 75,000 jobs in supplier industries and another 123,000 jobs linked to worker spending. According to the report, every direct crypto job supports approximately six additional jobs across the broader U.S. economy. These roles span cloud services, legal services, insurance, housing, transportation, and restaurants. The report's appendix notes that the figure reflects standard economic multiplier effects and therefore does not represent 232,000 people employed directly by crypto businesses.

The average annual wage across all supported jobs is $133,000, compared with a $64,000 national median. Securities, commodity contracts, and investments form the largest sector in the model. The wage premium reflects the concentration of high-skill technical, financial, and legal positions within the industry's direct workforce, which pulls the average for indirectly supported jobs upward as well.

State-Level Distribution

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, consistent with their dominance in both technology and financial services employment more broadly. Texas follows with 26,536 jobs, 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 approximately 5,797 supported jobs and $1.3 billion in economic contribution. These state-level figures encompass direct crypto employment, supplier jobs, and positions supported through household spending, rather than only payroll headcounts at blockchain companies.

Methodology

Because the Bureau of Economic Analysis does not classify crypto as a standalone industry, government economic statistics do not separately track the sector's contribution — a gap the NCA commissioned this study to help fill. Pragmatic Policy Group mapped crypto businesses into existing sectors. The model allocates most financial-related crypto revenue to securities and commodity contracts, with a smaller share assigned to data processing and internet publishing.

The analysis relies on 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. The model assumes that 2024 production relationships remain in place, meaning the multiplier effects reflect the current structure of the U.S. economy rather than projected structural changes.

The NCA funded the research, while Pragmatic Policy Group described the work as independent analysis.

Released Amid Mixed Crypto Hiring Trends

The NCA released the study at a time when employment trends within 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 reductions do not directly contradict the NCA estimate because the study measures a broader economic footprint and relies on economic modeling rather than a live industry headcount.

As crypto.news previously reported, a separate NCA survey estimated that more than 67 million U.S. adults now own crypto.