Shocking Report: Ethereum Core Developers Earn Less Than Half Market Rates

Ethereum's brain trust is getting paid peanuts—and the network might be paying the price.

Behind the Code: The Talent Drain

Top-tier developers building crypto's second-largest blockchain are taking home paychecks that don't just lag behind industry standards—they're getting less than half. While Silicon Valley and rival chains throw six-figure bonuses at engineering talent, Ethereum's core team struggles to keep the lights on.

The Compensation Gap: By the Numbers

Market rates for senior blockchain engineers now clear $200K-plus in base compensation alone. Ethereum's key contributors? They're scraping by on sub-$100K packages despite maintaining a $400 billion ecosystem. That's like paying a Ferrari mechanic bicycle wages.

Network Security at Risk?

Underpaid developers mean underprotected code. When your core team's browsing job listings between critical upgrades, attack vectors don't just appear—they get invited in for coffee. The Merge didn't include a salary upgrade, and now execution clients are showing strain.

VCs pocket 100x returns while the actual builders can't afford Bay Area rent. Classic crypto capitalism—decentralize the profits, centralize the struggle.

Risk for Ethereum

However, the report warned that this underpayment poses long-term risks to the blockchain network.

According to the report, Ethereum’s technical roadmap depends on retaining top-tier talent, but the lack of competitive compensation threatens both retention and execution.

Several industry experts shared this view, pointing out that Ethereum is the second-largest blockchain network and is playing a significant role in the evolution of the financial industry.

Considering this significant role, they noted that the developers should be well compensated to avoid jeopardizing Ethereum’s “credible neutrality.”

Ngo said:

“I wholeheartedly agree that it is unacceptable to pay half the market rate of an equivalent engineer to literally keep a $400 billion network alive and decentralized.”

Legal expert Gabriel Shapiro agreed, arguing that developers should share in the upside of the network they secure.

As a result, he suggested paying contributors partly in locked ETH, while stressing that:

“Relying on the next Eigenlayer to make a token donation to Protocol Guild is not a strategy.”