Bitcoin Developers’ Salaries: A Growing Concern in the Crypto World
During the Bitcoin 2025 conference, a rarely discussed topic took center stage: the compensation of Bitcoin developers. Unlike traditional companies, Bitcoin doesn’t generate revenue to pay salaries, raising questions about how these crucial contributors are compensated.
Bitcoin developers primarily rely on grants from companies within and outside the cryptocurrency sector. However, there’s a growing concern that these highly skilled professionals are earning less than their counterparts in other tech fields. This disparity is particularly striking considering Bitcoin’s massive value.
The discussion highlighted that Bitcoin, a $2 trillion asset, surpasses the market capitalization of giants like Google and Meta, yet its developers receive comparatively modest compensation.
Executive Warns of Underpaid Bitcoin Developers
A panel titled “The Critical Role of Open Source Bitcoin Funding” featured Dan O’Prey (14tz), Mike Schmidt (Brink), Alex Li (Human Rights Foundation), and Hong Kim (Bitwise). They addressed the often-overlooked issue of Bitcoin developer salaries.
“We recently published a report in October covering these organizations,” Schmidt noted. “We estimate that in 2023, the total funding for Bitcoin Core development was around $8.3 million.”
He added, “That’s basically the tech budget of a small software company. For a $2.2 trillion asset, that’s a very, very small amount of money for about 40 to 45 active developers.”
The study revealed that $5.2 million came from open donations ($3.6 million via grants and $1.6 million through employment) and $3.2 million from private funding ($1.5 million via grants and $1.7 million through employment).
Dividing the total funding among 41 developers results in an annual salary of approximately $202,000. While this may seem substantial, Kim pointed out that this is comparable to the starting salary for a newly graduated developer in the United States.
Michael Ford, the longest-serving Bitcoin Core maintainer, was specifically mentioned.
“Michael has been working on the Core for over a decade, ensuring the code functions across all operating systems and compilers,” Kim explained.
“Michael is the person who makes sure everything works. Do we have a replacement for Michael? Does he have an apprentice? He’s been doing this for 13 years. Is he being paid enough to continue for another 10 years? We’re not talking about Google engineer salaries here. We’re talking about $100,000, $200,000 – entry-level salaries – being paid to world-class people doing the hardest work, facing all kinds of criticism and hate.”
In May, Gloria Zhao deactivated her X account (formerly Twitter) after facing a barrage of criticism from the community.
Several key figures have left the Bitcoin project between 2022 and 2023, including Wladimir van der Laan, considered Satoshi Nakamoto’s successor, and Marco Falke.
While salary concerns weren’t explicitly cited as the reason for their departures, they may have contributed to the decision.
In comparison, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, recently received an anonymous donation of 300 bitcoins, equivalent to nearly four years of funding for all Bitcoin developers combined.
Twitter Founder Plays Key Role in Funding Bitcoin Developers
The panelists also emphasized that a significant portion of the funding comes from a single individual: Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter.
“Bringing in about 10 more developers per year with full funding would be a viable and valuable goal – something that would help scale and allow more developers to work on Bitcoin,” Mike Schmidt commented.
“Overall, this $8.3 million is not a high amount, and the concentration of funding sources is also a concern – a sign of centralization. Jack Dorsey, for example, funds a lot of Bitcoin development, donates to many of these organizations, and that’s phenomenal. But at least three of these organizations are funded 100% or over 90% only by Jack or by Jack and Jay-Z. This represents a significant risk of concentration in the hands of a single individual.”
Dorsey recently expressed support for BIP-177, a controversial proposal that would change how Bitcoin is viewed. Given his support for developers, he could influence discussions on the topic.
Schmidt suggests that large asset managers and other billionaires, like Dorsey, should start funding Bitcoin development.
Additionally, there’s a fear within the community that Bitcoin may contain a major bug. In 2023, Cobra, the owner of Bitcoin.org, warned that investors “will lose everything” due to the exploitation of a small flaw.
Since 2024, developers have been publishing a list of bug fixes.
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