Web3 Recruitment and Job Seeking 2025 Year-End Review: Who is Making Money, and Who is Paying to Work?

Author: antoniayly, Deep Tide TechFlow

In 2025, the crypto industry presents a subtle hustle and bustle. Various ETFs are lining up for launch, compliance frameworks are being introduced in various countries, and traditional institutions are experiencing FOMO, as it seems that crypto is being embraced as a trendy new asset by old money; on social media, some people flaunt their monthly salaries of $10,000 or share various stable arbitrage tips, enticing many outsiders to give it a try.

But behind the excitement, what is the real experience of working in Web3 like? Who is hiring? What kind of people are they looking for? How much can they offer? For those who want to enter or have already entered the field, are they thriving? Are they confused? Are they regretting their choices?

To answer these questions, we surveyed mainstream industry recruitment portals such as web3.career, cryptojobslist, Dejob, abetterweb3, the official websites of major exchanges, Solana, and Arbitrum ecosystem recruitment, compiling over 18,000 job postings and over 2,700 job seeker data, aiming to see:

• The recruitment trends, popular positions, salary structures, and regional distributions of various Web3 companies in 2025, to glimpse what preparations Web3 companies are making;

• The skill sets, salaries, remote work ratios, layoff experiences, and favorite/least favorite companies of Chinese job seekers in Web3, in order to profile the most authentic talent in this industry.

Summary:

1. The recruitment market exhibits a pronounced Matthew effect, with only a few dozen large Web3 companies having over 100 headcounts (HC), yet their job postings account for 40% of the total.

2. The demand for engineers (developers) accounts for 32% of all job postings; "compliance" related demands rank 7th in the top 10, reflecting the industry's active transformation under the compliance wave.

3. The technical stack demand is primarily focused on AI, blockchain, and backend, while on-chain native languages like Solidity and Move remain relatively niche.

4. 90% of positions support remote work, and 8.8% of positions offer part-time options (33.7% of Chinese job postings support part-time work).

5. Salaries for Chinese job seekers are 70%-80% lower than global talent, with salaries in RMB already on par with domestic small and medium-sized internet companies.

6. Many Chinese job seekers have backgrounds from major Web2 companies, with those having over 10 years of experience accounting for 10% of the total statistics.

7. Nearly half of the respondents have experienced layoffs, and many did not receive any compensation after being laid off.

8. Close to 70% of respondents reported that their jobs do not offer any token incentives.

9. Among the survey results, 25% of respondents are working for pay (overall earnings in the crypto space < 0).

10. 80% of people work 40-50 hours a week, with relatively mild overtime.

This article also provides a PDF version for browsing or downloading on other devices. You can visit this link👇

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1. Web3 Recruitment: Preparing for the Next Compliance Era

1.1 Who is Hiring

The Web3 recruitment market in 2025 shows little fluctuation throughout the year, but changes in certain months can reflect some common recruitment trends.

In January and February, the number of job postings rises, generally reflecting companies allocating work to various departments based on their plans at the beginning of the year. The surge in recruitment before December may indicate that some individuals are leaving or switching jobs before the Christmas/New Year holidays, leading to a large number of vacancies.

The significant drop in HC in December indicates that December is a month for winding down and vacation.

In the Chinese-speaking region, recruitment tends to peak in March and April, as many companies plan for the year after the Spring Festival in January and February.

Among various recruitment channels, web3.career has become the first choice for many recruiters and job seekers due to its ability to quickly filter remote positions and its large number of postings, leading to a significant lead in posting volume.

Next are the Chinese vertical recruitment platforms Dejob and abetterweb3, as many Chinese founders prefer to collaborate in their native language and require efficient matching with Chinese-speaking talent.

Following that are the official recruitment pages of major exchanges, such as Binance, OKX, Coinbase, etc. However, since exchanges often publish job postings simultaneously on Chinese and international platforms, there may be some overlap in the data here.

The Solana ecosystem recruitment page published a total of 515 positions in 2025 (traced back to April 2025), while the Ethereum ecosystem recruitment primarily collected data from the Arbitrum ecosystem recruitment page, which published a total of 194 positions throughout the year. These two recruitment pages serve as the main entry points for on-chain ecosystem positions outside of exchanges.

Compared to December 2024, the Solana recruitment page saw a significant increase (298 → 514, +72.5%), while other platforms, except for OKX, experienced varying degrees of shrinkage. However, this may also be due to OKX not reusing its official recruitment page last year.

In summary, the top 10 exchanges by recruitment posting volume in 2025 are:

As a long-established compliant exchange in the U.S., Coinbase has made a bold leap this year, riding the wave of compliance. Other exchanges are expanding at a normal pace, considering the distinct characteristics of the crypto industry with clear bull and bear markets, neither too aggressive nor overly conservative.

However, exchanges may frequently change their business lines, which could lead to positions being canceled and reposted repeatedly.

Among non-exchange companies, Tether demonstrated strong profitability and resilience with over 1,000 HC throughout the year; however, other types of enterprises are evidently not as strong as exchanges, and companies with high posting volumes are mainly concentrated in mature business models such as security and fund custody.

It can be seen that leading companies contribute a significant number of positions, with only a few dozen companies posting over 100 positions throughout the year, yet their total number of positions accounts for 40%; hundreds of companies posting 10-50 positions throughout the year form the backbone of the industry, accounting for nearly 30%. Meanwhile, over 1,800 companies posted fewer than 10 positions throughout the year, only accounting for 18% of the total.

1.2 What is Being Hired

In terms of job type distribution, the top 10 types among the 18,508 valid data are:

Engineers (developers) are understandably the largest demand in this industry, accounting for 32% of all job postings. Following closely are demands from the marketing department, indicating that customer acquisition/growth is an eternal topic.

Notably, "compliance" related demands have reached 7th place in the top 10. In the wave of compliance, capable and ambitious companies will actively fill this important puzzle piece.

Among technical positions, the most frequently requested demands are:

1. AI & Data - 1,158

2. Blockchain - 1,146

3. Backend - 949

4. Infra & Operations - 485

5. Frontend - 469

6. Security - 431

7. Full Stack - 318

8. QA - 265

9. Mobile - 191

10. Product (Technical Product) - 157

The demand for AI data and blockchain development is far ahead, followed by backend, infra development, operations, security, and other positions closely related to the survival of decentralized networks, transitioning from the underlying layer to the user side.

In terms of programming languages, the most in-demand are mainstream backend languages like Rust, Java, and Go, with Rust dominating due to its safety and performance advantages.

JavaScript/TypeScript, React, and other frontend tech stacks follow closely, reflecting a significant demand for frontend and full-stack development.

Languages like Node.js, C++, Kotlin, Ruby, and Scala also have certain demand in specific scenarios. On-chain native development languages like Solidity and Move remain relatively niche.

In terms of non-technical positions, legal/compliance demands account for a significant portion. As mentioned earlier, legal/compliance has become an indispensable part of crypto companies transitioning to a new chapter.

It is worth mentioning that both technical and non-technical positions have shown a common demand for AI skill sets.

1.3 How Much

In terms of salary distribution, among the 14,659 job postings that disclosed salaries, the salary range of $6,000 - $12,000 has the highest concentration, but there are also many entry-level positions in the $2,000 - $4,000 range and high-paying positions above $12,000.

Among them, the top 10 global technical job salary tags (taking the median of the lowest & highest salaries) are:

1. Data: $11,667 - $17,500

2. Zero-Knowledge Proof: $11,521 - $17,084

3. Cloud Engineer: $11,733 - $15,733

4. Solana Developer: $6,792 - $13,959

5. Cloud Computing: $9,140 - $12,315

6. Java Developer: $7,875 - $12,292

7. TypeScript Developer: $9,184 - $11,829

8. Mobile Developer: $9,870 - $11,778

9. Backend Developer: $9,035 - $11,752

10. Golang Developer: $8,042 - $11,709

Data and zero-knowledge proof related positions have the highest salaries, with monthly salary caps reaching $17,500 (approximately 125,000 RMB). These positions have extremely high requirements for mathematics, cryptography, and algorithms, and the scarcity of talent justifies the high salaries. Positions like cloud engineer and Solana developer, which align with on-chain technology stack trends, also rank high.

In terms of non-technical positions, the top 10 global monthly salaries are:

1. Data Analysis: $11,667 - $17,500

2. CMO: $9,130 - $14,167

3. Risk Control: $6,194 - $13,695

4. Listing: $8,208 - $13,111

5. Legal: $9,006 - $12,975

6. Marketing: $7,822 - $12,711

7. Analyst: $9,584 - $12,676

8. Video Production: $8,690 - $12,144

9. QA: $9,177 - $11,688

10. User Education: $7,108 - $11,658

The listing department, as a core position connecting project parties, exchanges, and users, naturally ranks high in salary.

The high salaries for roles like CMO and marketing reflect the industry's ongoing need for good marketers to build strong communities.

The high salaries for risk control and legal positions also reflect the scarcity of such roles in this industry.

However, in the abetterweb3 Chinese recruitment database, whether for technical or non-technical positions, the salary distribution shows a cliff-like drop, with most concentrated around $2K - $4K, equivalent to 14,000 - 28,000 RMB, on par with most domestic small and medium-sized internet companies.

The salary statistics collected from our survey are even more dire, with over 20% of respondents earning less than $1,500 per month (approximately 10,000 RMB), with the vast majority concentrated in the $1,500 - $4,000 range (approximately 10,000 - 28,000 RMB). This may be related to the lack of regulatory environment for Web3 in East Asia—low salaries, or even unpaid wages, only allow companies to thrive while workers have no recourse, and the sustainability of their careers depends entirely on encountering a good boss.

From the job postings that disclosed regional requirements, under the wave of compliance, the U.S. and the U.K. have naturally become the gathering places for global crypto startups.

Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai, as global financial centers, are active in investment and financing, attracting a wealth of talent, and thus naturally host many Web3 companies.

In contrast, compared to before 2021, recruitment for Web3 companies in mainland China has nearly disappeared under repeated high-pressure regulatory measures, with only a few teams existing in relatively open cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou, and Chengdu.

In terms of salary distribution rankings, apart from common cities in Europe and America, the two European cities of Warsaw and Prague, along with the two Asian cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen, unexpectedly entered the top 10 high-salary regions for Web3 (see the image below).

This may be related to the types of Web3 companies in these areas (such as star infra, exchanges), the presence of senior positions, and management/C-level roles.

It is worth mentioning that among the 5,467 valid data points, remote positions reached 5,171, accounting for 94.6%.

This reflects the "nomadic" cultural gene characteristic of the Web3 industry—after years of regulatory scrutiny in various countries, Web3 companies have long been accustomed to weakening national/regional restrictions on talent for survival, opting for loose collaboration in exchange for more discreet existence.

Additionally, an interesting statistic is that part-time/contract positions account for 8.8% of global postings, while in Chinese recruitment postings, this figure rises to 33.7%.

This part-time work is not similar to the "side jobs" many engage in at traditional internet companies, such as e-commerce or selling goods, but rather involves genuinely working for multiple projects and companies to earn multiple incomes. This may relate to the widely accepted culture of anonymous collaboration in the Web3 industry.

2. Web3 Chinese Job Seekers: Transformation and Competition Inside and Outside the Fortress

Based on job seeker data from two major Web3 Chinese recruitment platforms, abetterweb3 and Dejob (a total of 2,666 entries), we can see some truths about the industry that appear golden on the outside but are flawed within.

The submission trend of Chinese job seekers generally increased from the beginning of the year to mid-year; however, apart from the spring months, the differences are not significant, lacking the distinct characteristics of traditional recruitment's "golden three months" or "golden nine months."

The top 10 most desired positions are: development, operations, frontend, backend, investment research, business development, project management, product, design, and copywriting. This basically encompasses the main job types in this industry.

The occurrence of the term "partner" 106 times indicates a strong entrepreneurial atmosphere in the crypto industry, but it also suggests that there is currently no mature entrepreneurial matching mechanism, leading individuals to express their entrepreneurial intentions on job platforms.

Developer job seeker information accounts for about 30% of the total job seekers each month.

The active job seeking by technical talent reflects that there are still many developers entering the industry, but it may also indicate that the recruitment HC is far from meeting the number of job seekers, leading to an extraordinary squeeze on the job-seeking side.

Notably, many job seekers mentioned in their experiences that they come from major internet BAT companies.

It can be seen that talent with experience in mature internet companies may be actively seeking transformation opportunities due to the common "35-year-old barrier."

In terms of work experience distribution, newcomers (1-3 years) account for as much as 30%, but there are also many seasoned professionals with 7, 8, or even over ten years of experience.

Although these numbers do not constitute a majority, they reflect the helplessness of many middle-aged individuals being forced out of their comfort zones.

In terms of Web3 industry experience distribution, half of all job seekers have been familiar with Web3 for no more than 2 years.

This indicates that in 2025, even in vertical recruitment channels for Web3, there are still many newcomers who are curious about the industry and are actively seeking entry opportunities.

Of course, this may also relate to the fact that senior Web3 talent tends to move through referrals and no longer use recruitment platforms.

Among those with over 10 years of work experience, most also have a shallow understanding of Web3, which may pose challenges for transitioning, as most Web3 companies place a high value on candidates' crypto-native experience.

In the descriptions of past experiences and preferred technical stacks, commonly used frontend technologies like JavaScript, React, and Vue appear frequently. In the backend tech stack, mainstream languages like Golang and Python dominate, while blockchain-specific languages like Solidity and Move remain relatively niche. (The best languages in the world are in a chaotic battle.)

In terms of job capabilities, verbs like design, operations, data, product, and analysis are very prominent.

In terms of language skills, over 62% of job seekers selected both Chinese and English, indicating that bilingual proficiency is a necessary skill.

Talent with less common languages like Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean is an important reserve for specific markets (such as Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea) and is very scarce among the population.

In terms of educational background, most have a bachelor's degree, but whether in recruitment or job seeking, those from 985/211 universities do not constitute an absolute majority. The hot keywords in educational backgrounds include not only domestic prestigious universities like Peking University and Wuhan University but also well-known overseas institutions like New York University and the National University of Singapore, along with many ordinary universities and even vocational backgrounds.

This indicates that the Web3 industry currently values ability more than educational credentials, and it has not reached a saturation point where educational qualifications block upward mobility.

The professional backgrounds are diverse; while computer science/CS occupies a significant number, students from other majors also have backgrounds that match positions in design, product, and analysis.

In terms of salary expectations, among the 1,083 valid entries that filled out salary expectations, the salary expectations of Chinese talent are drastically lower than the global average monthly salary level—94% of them expect salaries below $3,000.

This phenomenon may have several reasons:

• Information Gap: Given that most people mentioned earlier have little actual Web3 experience, they may not have a deep understanding of the salary levels in this industry, leading to some mismatch in self-evaluation.

• Cost of Living: Most Chinese job seekers may be active in regions with lower living costs, such as mainland China, Southeast Asia, South America, and Central Europe, allowing them to leverage geographical arbitrage through remote work.

• Industry Cycle: Since this data collection occurred in December 2025, the market has entered a bear market, and many job seekers urgently need a job, thus hoping to lower their price to increase their chances of employment (i.e., competition).

In summary, at present, most Web3 talent is not as expensive and arrogant as the outside world suggests. Through years of expansion and dissemination, the salary levels in the Web3 industry have basically aligned with those in Web2.

3. Survey Results: The Silent and Humble Majority

From the 506 collected practitioner survey responses, we can obtain a more direct and authentic portrait of the industry.

In terms of age distribution, the 18-29 age group, as the main workforce, is indeed the majority, but there are also a considerable number of young and middle-aged practitioners (>30 years old).

This may be related to the fact that the "35-year-old barrier" in the Web3 industry is not as severe. Compared to internet companies, Web3 companies place more emphasis on experience, ability, and efficiency, with various companies preferring seasoned professionals who can "hit the ground running" to quickly build products.

The distribution of educational backgrounds is consistent with the earlier talent data statistics, primarily with bachelor's degrees, including some below bachelor's level and some master's and doctoral degrees, with a low proportion of master's and doctoral holders.

In terms of professional identity, the most numerous roles are in marketing (operations/BD/customer service, etc.), followed by developers (frontend/backend/smart contracts/blockchain, etc.).

Next are product, human resources, investment research, design, trading, etc. In the "other" submissions, there are many roles in risk control & security, KOL, etc.

Regarding employment/leaving status, only 52% of respondents are currently employed in Web3. Over 30% of people are in a relatively flexible life situation.

This indicates that the market conditions affecting companies' HC have impacted many individuals; on the other hand, it may also be because some unique business models in Web3 have allowed certain individuals not to need to work to obtain cash flow, such as KOLs and traders.

More than half of the submissions indicated that they had worked in exchanges, followed by studios/communities, DeFi, media, wallets, and other common business types.

Whether for talent or those providing positions, there is a clear Matthew effect concentrating towards exchanges.

This also reflects the current industry dilemma to some extent: apart from exchanges, the revenue capacity of other business models mostly diminishes from C-end—tools—underlying layers.

In terms of remote collaboration tools, since this survey took place in a Chinese vertical Web3 recruitment community, Telegram is favored by most companies for its confidentiality and usability, followed by mainstream domestic tools like Feishu and WeChat, and finally foreign companies' commonly used tools like Google Suites, Discord, Slack, etc.

In terms of income levels, contrary to the myths of sudden wealth, most Web3 individuals earn less than most leading internet companies, and there is also a severe lack of long-term incentives (tokens/token rights), year-end bonuses, and severance compensation.

Over 70% of people have a monthly income of less than $4,000 (equivalent to 28,000 RMB), and the $10,000 monthly salary often seen on Xiaohongshu is indeed rare.

Nearly half of the respondents have experienced layoffs, and among those laid off, 40% reported not receiving any compensation, while 21% indicated that even if there was compensation, it fell far short of the legally mandated standards (such as n+1).

Close to half of the respondents indicated that they have not received year-end bonuses; even those who did receive bonuses generally received 1-3 months' worth, which is basically on par with most internet companies outside of Web3.

In terms of the well-known "upward mobility" token incentives, nearly 70% of practitioners reported that they have not received any. Even when they do, it is rare for it to exceed 20% of their salary.

In fact, a quarter of respondents reported that their overall wealth accumulation after entering the crypto space has been "loss," indicating a "paying to work" status; other responses mostly indicated wealth accumulation around $100K (equivalent to 700,000 RMB).

However, on the other side of seemingly hopeless income levels, the strong remote work culture in Web3 can be said to provide some relief for many workers.

Close to 70% of respondents indicated that their companies support remote work, and another 15% indicated support for hybrid work, meaning that while there is an office, attendance is not mandatory, or a few days a week can be worked from home.

Remote work can indeed alleviate the pain of working to some extent. In the question about the "biggest source of stress," 31 responses chose "long commuting time."

Other top sources of stress include product growth, work boundaries, market fluctuations, concerns about layoffs, and difficult bosses.

To maintain the mental health of employees as social beings, many companies have also taken measures to sustain team cohesion.

Under the combined effects of low income and instability, many people choose to take on multiple jobs. In the responses, 20% indicated they have part-time jobs. This also reflects the technical orientation of most Web3 companies, where as long as problems can be solved and abilities are in place, they do not interfere with employees' lifestyles and income methods.

In terms of overtime intensity, 80% of people work approximately 40-50 hours a week. Thus, it appears that the overtime intensity in Web3 is significantly less than that of many 996/007 sweatshops in Web2.

Regarding job changes, over half of the respondents expressed a desire to switch companies, with 30% planning to change jobs within 3-6 months. However, about a quarter of respondents are satisfied with their current status, and eight individuals have found "dream companies" they hope to work at for a lifetime.

Considering factors like less overtime, the ability to work remotely, and part-time options, many people have given positive evaluations of their current jobs. In the section for rating current jobs, the average score given was 3.51.

Regarding whether the next job will still be in the crypto space, over 80% chose to stay, while 7% chose to leave.

In terms of reasons for leaving, the choices reflect the industry's true indifference.

However, all the preparations are aimed at early retirement. When asked "At what wealth level would you consider resigning," the vast majority chose $1M - $5M (equivalent to 7 million - 35 million RMB). This may indeed be the wealth limit one can achieve through working. However, 20% chose "no limit," reflecting their confidence in their abilities.

Regarding the outlook for the job recruitment market in 2026, only 28% of respondents believe it will improve, while most hold a pessimistic or wait-and-see attitude.

Truth-telling Section👀

In addition to the above questions, we also added a few optional questions to gather some of the most authentic opinions from job seekers about current industry companies (for entertainment purposes only).

In the question "Which is the best crypto company in your opinion?," the top ten companies are:

OKX (26), Binance (23), Bitget (10), Gate (9), MEXC (7), Bybit (6), Old Huobi (5), Huobi (4), Deep Tide TechFlow (3), OneKey (3)

Surprisingly, some teams that have already disbanded were also mentioned, such as Huobi during Li Lin's era, a certain Bitget team that has been laid off, and the now-defunct Consensus Lab. Perhaps these dream companies are worth a lifetime of nostalgia.

In the question "Which is the worst crypto company in your opinion?," the top ten companies are:

Gate (43), Bitget (13), OKX (12), MEXC (8), Huobi (7), Binance (5), WEEX (5), CoinW (2), Kucoin (2), Lbank (1)

Some exchanges appear on both the best and worst lists. This may indicate that the internal business lines of exchanges are vast and complex, and the working experiences of different departments and leaders can vary greatly.

In the question "If you could choose any company without considering real-world conditions, which company would you most like to go to?," the top ten companies are:

Binance (177), OKX (50), Coinbase (25), Hyperliquid (11), Bybit (11), Bitget (10), Tether (10), Circle (6), Solana (5), Ethereum (5)

As the industry leader, Binance unsurprisingly ranks first. As the "Tencent of the crypto space," Binance has both the filter of outsiders and the role of a prestigious resume within the industry, genuinely supporting individual career development. The on-chain newcomer Hyperliquid, as a non-exchange company, made it into the top 10, reflecting its strong community and people's desire for non-exchange products. Besides leading exchanges, names of foreign companies/overseas infra have significantly increased in this answer, reflecting the disappointment of most job seekers towards Chinese teams.

In the question "What do you think is the most profitable profession in the crypto space?," the high-frequency keywords include:

Trader (85), KOL (68), BD (47), Exchange (32), Quant (32), Project (27), Developer (20), Contract (17), Market Maker (16), Technical (14)

Traders rank first, likely because the ghostly market conditions over the past two years have made many realize that regardless of the company or profession, it may be better to directly engage in the game themselves; KOLs follow closely, likely due to the opportunity to access primary chips from project parties, having information advantages, or being able to directly influence specific targets for profit. Pure technical positions, which are distanced from the market, were also mentioned, perhaps because, in the eyes of most non-developers, "technology" is an indispensable part of achieving leaps as "super individuals."

If you are interested in more details of the answers, we have made this part of the answers public in an online document, which you can view👀.

++Crypto Workplace Survey++ ++Questionnaire Truth-telling Answers++

You can also click here to view the pure version of the survey results↓

++Crypto Workplace Survey Results Pure Version++

Aside: Traits Valued by HR

To better help job seekers understand the perspective of recruiters, we also interviewed several senior HR personnel from different companies.

Regarding whether Web3 recruitment demand has contracted over the past few years, an HR from an exchange stated that since 2020, the recruitment they have handled has indeed shown a downward trend. The current situation in 2025 is that development HC is not being updated much, with only BD, marketing, and operations roles being hired and then leaving repeatedly. The reason is clear: there are not many new features to develop in this industry, but there is still a need for people to drive growth.

Another HR indicated that overall demand has not decreased, but the demand for junior positions has decreased while the demand for senior/specialist positions has increased. A third HR mentioned that while demand has not contracted, the hiring thresholds are rising, particularly with an obvious increase in educational requirements, although it is not as competitive as in Web2.

Regarding what kind of candidates make a "good first impression," HRs commonly mentioned two points: good education and good background (big companies, relevant experience).

However, there is a survivor bias here: companies that can hire HRs are often already relatively mature, so it is understandable that they have requirements for education and background. Some interviewed HRs also noted that educational requirements vary by job type; positions that require education, such as backend, algorithms, and blockchain, have always had such requirements; positions that do not require education are not overly demanding now either. Additionally, one HR mentioned that for product research roles, a Web2 background is a plus, but for non-product research roles like marketing and operations that require active empathy with users, a Web2 background may actually be a disadvantage.

Regarding valued traits, several interviewed HRs mentioned they place great emphasis on ability, self-motivation, learning ability, and willingness to integrate into Web3. Senior HR Oona stated that teams may value "plug-and-play" and "problem-solving" professional abilities more; as an HR, she would assess whether a candidate is "suitable" more comprehensively, which often includes the aforementioned traits, as well as whether they are "smart"; at the same time, they also place great importance on whether a candidate has a stable and tidy background, as she tends to prefer candidates with such profiles.

Regarding whether there are positions that have been open for a long time without being filled or are hard to recruit, several HRs indicated that there are basically no positions that cannot be filled; however, some hybrid positions may take relatively longer to fill, such as requiring someone with both product awareness and development capabilities. However, such hybrid HCs are also relatively rare.

Conclusion: The Spark Still Exists

We hope to use this data to demystify the industry for some, but we also hope to retain a snapshot of the industry in 2025. Today, this industry no longer has the space for grassroots wealth accumulation as seen in 2017, nor does it have the liquidity feast of 2021. Exchanges are absorbing most of the employment, while startups at various levels and in various tracks are waiting for the next wind under the sands of the times. The wealth stories on Xiaohongshu and Bilibili are either survivor bias or belong to a very small number at the top of the pyramid. The silent majority beneath the surface of this industry are merely ordinary people trying to support the million or ten million financing stories of their bosses with salaries of two or three thousand dollars.

Even so, over 80% of people choose to stay in this industry. Behind this persistence lies not only an obsession with financial freedom but also a recognition of lifestyles such as remote work and flexible work, along with a sense of helplessness after going "all in" and being unable to turn back. The true color of the industry is made up of middle-aged individuals transitioning from major internet companies, young graduates who have entered the crypto space due to a lack of good job opportunities, and freelancers juggling multiple projects. Here, there are no utopias for crypto geeks, but rather a fortress filled with uncertainty and a flicker of hope.

However, this article is not meant to sing the industry's demise; it merely aims to set up a lamp for those who will enter the field in the future. Perhaps after rounds of stories, applications, manipulations, and bubbles, a true ideal land will rise. This industry has never belonged to Wall Street, whales, or old money; remote culture, anonymous collaboration, efficiency above all, and a focus on community—these tangible changes have already occurred and are irreversible. What ordinary people can strive for is to find a ship that won't sink within this trend.

After every mass extinction, new species will emerge. After repeated claims that "the industry no longer exists," those companies that survive the bear market, those teams that continue to refine their products, and those individuals who have not given up on learning and growth—will be the true and eternal winners.