Blockchain Developer Salaries and Market Size 2023

Updated for 2023

The rise of bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies has convinced everyone of the technology’s prospects. However, Blockchain isn’t about cryptocurrencies only. In recent years, a handful of companies specializing in different industries started implementing it into their work. Among them are Kodak, a stomatological project DentaCoin, and the World Food Programme. Thus, Qubit Labs has decided to jump into the topic to find out the Blockchain developer salary, overview the prospects of using the technology, and see how Blockchain engineers help companies skyrocket.

What Should You Know Before Hiring a Blockchain Developer?

First of all, it’s necessary to understand what Blockchain is. 

According to Linkedin, Blockchain is the number one hard skill companies need most nowadays. To name just a few, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon made Blockchain one of their leading technologies and are in constant search of skilled Blockchain engineers. If we don’t delve into the technical nuances of the technology, its working principle is rather simple. 

One can imagine it as an accounting journal obtained by each participant and is constantly updated. Basically, one can inscribe any event in that “journal,” from financial operations with Bitcoin or Etherum to the presidential elections voting results or identification data. The trick is that the pages, or blocks, of that “journal”, are simultaneously kept by all users, constantly updated, and refer to the old pages. In case anyone tries to cheat the system by deleting or replacing a page, the system will immediately check other versions of the journal and detect the discrepancy in the block’s structure.  

Another example is banking. Let’s say a person pays with a credit card for a purchase in the shop. A usual system implies that a cash register sends the information about a purchase into a bank, where the data about your account is stored. In case there is enough money, the server sends back the information that the money was written off. The buying is confirmed, and money from the customer’s account is transferred to the shop’s one. Everything seems to be convenient and reliable, but such a system has a significant vulnerability. Namely, it fully relies on the bank’s server performance. In case an intruder gets access to the server, one could change the information there, that is, freely use your money.

As mentioned, such activities are impossible in a Blockchain system since the data about all accounts is encrypted and stored by all system participants. Hence, any attempt to introduce changes will be immediately noticed by others. Special algorithms are used in the chains to ensure data encryption in the blocks, its transferring, and copies synchronization in the chains. Thus, Blockchain developer jobs are about developing and configuring the mentioned algorithms.         

The differences in Blockchain developers jobs 

There are several new professions that entered the IT industry along with Blockchain. Most often, people talk about the three following specialties:

• Blockchain engineer. Such a specialist has to know several programming languages, including Go, C, C++, and Java. Besides, one has to be versed in building relevant networks and implementing algorithms to realize complicated architecture. 
• Developer. This professional is engaged in creating client applications that use Blockchain’s algorithms for protecting confidential data. 
• Developer of smart-contract apps. This specialization implies working with Python, JavaScript, and other programming languages. This is an analog for professional web development. 

Although Blockchain development doesn’t rely on C/C++ only, these programming languages are involved in the majority of projects. For a Blockchain developer, it’s crucial to abreast with the algorithms and parameters that affect the data transferring to the block, sending blocks into the single chain, and encryption of the data flows with the subsequent deciphering. Usually, an average developer’s salary is three to five times lower than the salary of a Blockchain developer. Check out what sums professionals engaged in the technology expect on their paydays!

Blockchain Developer Salary Worldwide by Experience Level 2023 (Annual)

Qubit Labs has collected data from several websites and came up with the approximate numbers based on the mentioned numbers. The software developer salaries vary from company to company or from country to country. 

The US

The national average annual Blockchain developer salary USA is $154,550. Meanwhile, junior Blockchain developer salary is around $123,817, while senior specialists earn $231,500. Speaking of Blockchain developer salary in Boston, it’s higher than the national average, namely $172,270. At the same time, Blockchain developer salary Silicon Valley ranges from $150,000 to $175,000, which, again, overrides the average wage of such specialists throughout the country. The candidates looking for a job often wonder, “what salary should I expect as a front end developer with Blockchain,” yet there is no certain answer because it extends as far as to $197,000, but the average entry-level salary, in this case, is usually around $107,592. 

During our research, we have noticed that different websites present contrasting numbers, as follows:

PayScale has divided the professionals with Blockchain skills into three groups and concluded that a mid-level software engineer earns $92,667 per annum, a software developer — $100,000, and a senior software engineer with Blockchain experience — around $132,257. 

Hired suggested a list of the areas/cities with the highest Blockchain engineer salary. The top 5 leaders are:

• SF Bay Area — with the average Blockchain programmer salary of $174,760.
• New York — pays $168,926 to the average Blockchain developer.
• Dallas/Ft Worth — with the average Blockchain engineer salary of $165,978.
• Seattle — pays $163,367 for mid-level Blockchain engineering services.
• Boston — local mid-level Blockchain engineers earn around $159,573 annually.

Also, it’s necessary to point out the average salary Blockchain developer San Francisco since this state is the magnet for top-rated programmers. Thereby, ZipRecruiter mentions that the local Blockchain programmer salary is $167,592 per year

At the same time, Glassdoor Blockchain developer salary suggests programmers from San Francisco earn $109,954 per annum. And as for Blockchain developer salary California in general, the average number is $122,681 per year.

Let’s take a look and compare the average Blockchain developer salaries in 5 popular tech hubs in the US:

• The average Blockchain developer salary in San Francisco is $109,954 per annum
• Philadelphia pays the average Blockchain developer salary of $108,943 yearly
• Blockchain developer salary in Chicago is about $108,775 per year
• In Boston, a mid-level Blockchain specialist earns around $106,375 
• A mid-level Blockchain developer salary NYC is about $105,207

Canada

Now, let’s turn to Canada, where a junior Blockchain developer salary is $61,263. Meanwhile, the average Blockchain developer salary in Canada is $85,769 on average. As for the most experienced professionals, their salaries are around $116,809 and more.

Actually, Indeed pointed out the following numbers, yet in Canadian dollars:

• low Blockchain developer salary — $75,000.  
• median Blockchain developer salary — $105,000.
• high Blockchain developer salary — $143,000.

Australia

In Australia, the salary of Blockchain developer starts from $69,296, then rises to $103,945. And as for senior Blockchain engineers, they earn around $134,174.

Western Europe

If we take a closer look at Western Europe, entry-level Blockchain engineers earn $31,727 per year. Meanwhile, those who have been in the industry for around 3 years get paid $75,283. The most experienced programmers who work with the technology for more than 5 years make approximately $95,118 per annum. As for the UK, PayScale presents the following numbers for the developers with Blockchain skills:

• Software engineer £36,000 or $50,006.
• Business development executive £27,000 or $37505.
• Sr.software engineer/Developer/programmer £75,000 or $104,181.

It’s also necessary to point out Blockchain developer salary Switzerland, where the average professional makes around $180,000 per year, which is one of the highest wages worldwide.

And as for Germany, the country pays about $67,544 to its Blockchain developers. And the number can rise to $150,000 for a senior-level specialist. 

There’s a table with Blockchain developer salaries in Western Europe to compare:

Eastern Europe

This region is known for its affordable prices yet great quality of the delivered products and services. The thing is that local economy levels are lower than in the countries above, hence the wages are lower. For example, the average junior Blockchain developer salary is $13,577 per year, while mid-level programmers are paid $25,433. As for senior-level Blockchain engineers, their salaries are rather high for Eastern Europe, namely $54,000 per year, yet still several times lower when compared with the American ones.

The average Blockchain developer salary in Eastern Europe by country is the following:

• The average Blockchain programmer salary in Poland is $42,057 annually
• A mid-level Blockchain developer in Ukraine earns $41,573 per year
• Czech Republic pays the average Blockchain developer salary of $42,899 per annum
• In Romania, the average Blockchain specialist earns about $40,937 yearly

Asia

The entry-level Bitcoin developer salary in Asia is $8,430. Mid-level specialists are usually paid around $11,799. The average Blockchain developer salary India is $9,221 per year, which is almost equal to the salary throughout the region. As for senior Blockchain developer jobs, they offer wages of $20,000 per annum.

Let’s compare several Asian countries (namely, those located in South and South East Asia) to detect the differences in Blockchain development salaries in the mentioned area:

• Malaysia pays mid-level Blockchain programmer salary of $16,836 per annum
• The average salary of a Blockchain developer in The Philippines is about $10,800 annually
• The average Blockchain developer salary India is $9,221 per year

Also, it’s worth taking a look at the countries located in other parts of Asia. Namely, in its Central and Western parts. We’ll add the region of Transcaucasia to the table as well because it will make the comparison more precise and comprehensive:

• In Kazakhstan, a mid-level Blockchain development specialist earns about $6,089 per year
• Georgia pays the average Blockchain developer salary of $17,889 annually
• In Armenia, the average pay for a Blockchain programmer is $12,120 per annum
• Azerbaijan pays the average Blockchain developer salary of $21,600

In What Industries Does a Blockchain Developer Work?

Although Blockchain is primarily associated with the financial industry, the spheres of the technology’s implementation aren’t limited to it. Alongside banks and FinTech startups, the players of other markets have also noticed this technology and look for ways of benefiting from the opportunities it offers. Let’s take a look at some of the most striking cases of Blockchain engineering in use.

Document management

Paperwork takes a lot of time in the means of both private and public companies’ business processes. Although document management has been transferred to the electronic form long ago in many countries, such a system is still far from perfect. Specific Blockchain tools, including a private or public key, are great analogues to the usual signatures (both electronic and regular). Each participant receives a unique key that will guarantee the credibility of the signed document.

Besides, Blockchain allows to prevent the falsification of documents and, if not to exclude, then, at least, minimize the corruption in certain spheres. The usage of technology in document management enables keeping records of the medical prescriptions issued by doctors, university diplomas, or certificates of ownership. 

Insurance

This is the branch of Blockchain implementation where Smart Contracts play a key role. A human factor often hinders the process of insurance payments. The technology allows excluding the human factor and makes this sector more transparent. There are currently several Blockchain companies that use Smart Contracts, namely InsureX (health and life insurance) and Etherisc (social security, insurance in the area of agriculture and air transportation). 

Logistics

There is a system that implies giving a unique identifier to each product. It enables the tracking of its transportation from the manufacturer to the end customer. The usage of Smart Contracts makes it possible to exclude the number of bureaucratic procedures required for usual transferring. Besides, Blockchain guarantees the commodity’s authenticity and helps to avoid overproduction. 

Digital identification

Thanks to Blockchain, each user can upload one’s data into a protected and safe environment, pass the verification procedure, and receive a so-called virtual passport. One can use this document to confirm the personality of different services and sites that work with KYC or AML. For example, there is a platform for digital identification, Civic, which offers multi-factor identification by using biometric data.

Government and elections

Blockchain enables for more transparent and honest elections, providing the correct procedure of vote counting. With the technology, there is no need for polling stations and bulletins. A person just authorizes into the system and makes a choice with a unique identifier. Blockchain will help to decrease the levels of fraud and other cheating activities. 

Healthcare

Blockchain-based cloud platforms allow hospitals, payers, and other healthcare market players to have access to their networks without any cybersecurity threats. When using Blockchain, unauthorized change/access/use of citizens’ data becomes impossible since any information about such actions is recorded in the system.

Cloud storages

The technology makes these storages decentralized, meaning more resilient to cyberattacks and data loss or damage. Besides, Blockchain-based computational systems allow users to rent out the capacities of their processors and receive tokens in return.

Real estate

Applications that use Blockchain help to track, record, and transfer rights to own property, buildings, land, or other documents. It assures the correctness and verification of the documents.  

Messaging

There is a Telegram Open Network, which is expected to expand the set of provided services to more than two million users of Telegram messenger by adding the options of payments, file storing, and censorship protection. 

Online advertising

The users will receive and see fewer ads, which will be more accurately targeted at their interests. As for the advertisers, they will receive more comprehensive and reliable information about the purchases. 

Education

As mentioned, Blockchain enables keeping records of all diplomas and other academic documents, reducing or eliminating the cases when fraudsters try to present themselves as the owners of certain certificates.

Car leasing and selling

The process of selling, buying, or leasing cars is complicated and consists of several stages, involving several parties at each of them. With Blockchain, their number will be reduced, making the mentioned processes more convenient and fast. 

Diamond industry

The diamonds are among the largest branches of natural resource extraction, which brings a significant contribution to the GDP of diamond-producing countries. However, the industry is known for high levels of fraud and law violations. With Blockchain, each diamond will have its own digital passport that helps to identify the stone and authenticate the transactions with it.

IoT

The technology stores the identification data of physical objects, like consumer goods and supplies, with embedded BLE and NFC microchips. It allows for creating identifiers that are secure and compatible with other systems. 

What is the market demand for Blockchain engineering?

Since Blockchain is one of the most rapidly evolving trends in the IT industry, the researchers predict the technology’s global size will reach $69,04 billion by 2027. People need simplified business processes and want to have effective supply chain management applications, so these are the main drivers of the global Blockchain market. Among the key market players, there are:

• IBM
• Microsoft
• AWS
• Intel
• Oracle
• Bitfury
• Huawei
• BigchainDB
• Infosys
• BTL Group

North America is expected to hold the largest market size in the industry. The current market size value is $5,88 billion, while the distributed ledger technology (DLT) system is moving towards becoming adopted by most of the industry players. 

Wrapping Up

As you can see, Blockchain developer salary can be as low as $6,766 and as high as $231,500 per year. The market is constantly evolving and influenced by the changes in the related industries. In case you have any project ideas that engage Blockchain, they have all the chances to become the next game changers because the market will only expand in the future. 

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