Blockchain Jobs Grow 45% Annually, Lagging AI's 57%

The blockchain industry, while growing, still lags behind the artificial intelligence (AI) sector in terms of job creation. As of now, the blockchain sector has over 300,000 global jobs, significantly fewer than the more than 1.5 million jobs in AI and machine learning, and the 25 million jobs in software development. The blockchain sector added around 20,000 new jobs in 2024, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45%, which is impressive but still trails the AI industry’s 57% CAGR.

The disparity in hiring between the two sectors is largely due to the maturity of the AI industry and its larger share of venture capital investment. In 2024, venture investors put more than $100 billion into AI startups, with AI-centric titles topping a million vacancies worldwide. In contrast, blockchain companies advertised barely 20,000 openings and drew only about $5.4 billion in new funding during the same period.

Despite the current gap, the blockchain sector is poised for significant growth. AI-related job listings have risen between 75% to 100% year-over-year, while blockchain job growth remains around the 45% to 60% growth range. If blockchain manages to scale at the same rate as AI-based roles, it could exceed one million jobs by 2030. This growth is expected to be driven by increased regulatory clarity and improved scalability.

Regulatory frameworks such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) are already beginning to thaw hiring freezes in the blockchain sector. Similar clarity in other regions could unlock global head-count plans. Additionally, enterprise-grade performance improvements, such as Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, which cut typical layer-2 fees by more than 95%, signal that blockchains can now handle corporate traffic at an acceptable cost.

While AI will naturally garner more talent in the next decade due to its faster market integration, blockchain is expected to penetrate more conventional consumer-oriented markets in the near future. The integration of blockchain with AI is driving steady job growth in both fields, as financial and tech firms move integrated solutions from pilot programs into core operations.

Combining AI and blockchain technologies enables sophisticated financial tools accessible to everyone, not just big institutions. Companies are recognizing the value of cross-domain expertise in both AI and blockchain, and are paying top dollar for professionals who understand both technologies. The synergistic benefits of these two technologies may start to mirror the AI industry’s job growth in the blockchain sector.

AI technology introduces uncertainty, which creates more demand for blockchain and cryptographic technologies. As AI consumes larger amounts of personal data, blockchain’s ability to secure sensitive information through cryptography will become increasingly important. This integration is already evident, with AI agents using cryptocurrency for autonomous transactions, such as the recent onchain payment of $1.77 worth of Virtual (VIRTUAL) tokens between AI agents on different protocols.