Crypto directly employs 34,000 in the US and contributes $55 billion to the economy: NCA report

Quick Take

• The crypto industry directly employs 34,000 people in the U.S. and supports 232,000 jobs in total once suppliers and worker spending are counted, according to a report the National Cryptocurrency Association commissioned and funded.
• California and New York alone account for more than 111,000 of those supported jobs, while all 12 Heartland states combined account for roughly 17,000.

The United States crypto industry directly employs 34,000 people and supports 232,000 jobs in total once supplier industries and worker spending are counted, according to a report published by the National Cryptocurrency Association.

The industry will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2026, of which roughly $31 billion flows to workers as income, the NCA report estimates. Pragmatic Policy Group conducted the analysis, which the NCA commissioned and funded.

Direct crypto employment sits above coffee and tea manufacturing at 28,400 and cement manufacturing at 15,300, and above tobacco manufacturing at 10,600, the report said, drawing on Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.

What the 232,000 counts

One notable finding from the report flagged that most of that total sits outside crypto companies. The NCA attributes 75,000 jobs to supplier industries and 123,000 to household spending by workers across both groups, arriving at the multiplier through a standard input-output model.

PPG stated the distinction directly in the report's appendix: the figures reflect standard multiplier effects and do not represent direct employment by crypto companies.

The occupational breakdown reflects this position. Office and administrative support is the largest single category across all supported jobs at 29,260, followed by business and financial operations at 21,650 and management at 20,890. Transportation and material moving account for 18,560, and food preparation and serving 16,910.

Within the 34,000 direct roles, software, blockchain and data engineering is the largest group at 10,100, followed by compliance, finance and business operations at 5,450 and executives and managers at 5,100.

The wage figure

The report puts the average annual wage across supported jobs at $133,000, against a $64,000 national median. The figure covers all 232,000 supported roles rather than crypto employees specifically, a distinction PPG marked in a footnote to the same chart.

Also, the occupational tables place janitorial, food service and delivery roles inside the same total.

Where the jobs sit

California accounts for 57,649 supported jobs and New York 53,766, together representing close to half the national figure. Texas follows at 26,536, Washington at 15,097 and North Carolina at 9,524.

The 12 states PPG defines as the Heartland account for more than 17,000 jobs combined, less than a third of California's total. Alaska sits at the bottom of the state table with 86. Colorado supports 5,797 jobs and $1.3 billion in economic contribution, according to the report, which points to Denver hosting 131 blockchain firms backed by $571 million in investment as of 2025 and to the state accepting crypto for tax payments.

North Dakota supports 813 jobs and $154 million, with the report citing Atlas Power's proposed 700MW facility and the Bank of North Dakota's planned USD-backed Roughrider Coin with Fiserv.

How the model works

PPG built the estimate on the Bureau of Economic Analysis's 2024 input-output tables, using a U.S. crypto industry revenue figure of $23.22 billion sourced from Statista as the initial input.

Crypto is not classified as a standalone industry in the BEA framework, so PPG mapped firms to existing sectors including securities and commodity contracts, credit intermediation, and data processing and internet publishing. Financial-related crypto revenue was allocated 97% to securities and commodity contracts and 3% to data processing.

The occupational allocation is a modeling assumption rather than an observed workforce profile. PPG mapped crypto activity to the occupational mix of technology-oriented sectors instead of financial ones, and stated in the appendix that a dedicated crypto workforce profile does not yet exist. The model assumes production relationships and industry structure hold at 2024 levels.

The sponsor

Stu Alderoty, president of the NCA and Ripple's CLO, said the industry has become an economic driver, with a "real, positive impact on American jobs, wages, and economic growth."

Oliver Browne, PPG's chief economist, led the study. Each direct crypto job generates around six additional roles across the broader economy, Browne said, and the industry is establishing itself as a measurable contributor with room to grow as adoption increases.

The NCA launched in 2025 as a 501(c)(4) focused on crypto education. The report states that while the association funded the research, the findings are based on PPG's independent analysis.