Today is the last day of 2025 and honestly, what a year it’s been.
From real lows to proper highs, this has been one of the most intense and rewarding years I can remember. I’m sure, in one way or another, it’s been the same for you.

Two things really stood out for me this year:

First: as long as you stay in the game and play it fairly, you eventually win. Not overnight. Not always loudly. But consistently.

Second: taking the time to meet new people, and reconnect with old ones, is one of the biggest blessings we have as humans. It’s a good reminder for those moments when you don’t feel like taking that call or having that meeting, those are often the ones that matter most.

As the year comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what we achieved.
For a small firm of five, passing the seven-figure mark was a milestone, but truthfully, the biggest achievement for me wasn’t revenue.

It was the people.

The conversations.
The introductions.
The chance meetings at events.
The candidates and clients who trusted us with something important.

That’s what stayed with me.

With that, I want to leave you with the key trend I see emerging in the crypto leadership space, one that I believe will define 2026.

Historically, crypto companies relied heavily on personal networks to hire senior leaders, especially at C-suite level. Founders hired people they already knew, trusted, or had worked with before.

That model no longer scales.

As companies grow larger, more regulated, and more institutional, driven largely by TradFi participation, the margin for error at leadership level shrinks dramatically. Boards, investors, and regulators are demanding process, diligence, and defensibility in hiring decisions.

As the industry matures, most top talent will be well-paid and settled, making precise, targeted headhunting essential rather than optional.

As a result, companies will increasingly rely on specialist executive search firms rather than informal referrals.,We are already seeing this shift at WorkInCrypto, and by 2026 this will be the norm, not the exception.

Historically, crypto salaries sat below equivalent roles in TradFi, with compensation justified through upside and equity narratives.

That gap is closing, fast.

By 2026, senior leaders should expect competitive base salaries plus meaningful upside, rather than “crypto discounts” justified by volatility.

The “more equity, less cash” model will continue, but with far more scepticism.

C-level candidates are no longer impressed by large equity numbers without substance. As the industry matures, leaders are asking harder questions:

Equity remains important, but blind belief is gone.
By 2026, senior leaders will trade equity for cash only when the fundamentals genuinely justify it.

One of the most noticeable leadership shifts: COOs are leaving.

As more CEO roles come to market, many experienced COOs, who have been running companies operationally and commercially are stepping up and pursuing top roles themselves. They want:

Expect a significant wave of COOs transitioning into CEO roles through 2025–2026, particularly in scale-up and institutional-facing crypto firms.

TradFi interest in crypto talent has existed for years, but actual hiring has been limited.

That is changing.

Banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and regulated financial institutions will need to:

The next major wave of talent demand will not come from another Layer 1 or Layer 2.

While token launches will continue to generate significant wealth for founders and early backers, the centre of long-term value creation is shifting elsewhere.

It will come from DeFi.

As infrastructure matures, competitive advantage is moving toward:

We are already seeing this in our practice, where DeFi engineering roles typically start at $200k+ and scale rapidly. DeFi will increasingly define where top talent flows.

The early crypto market embraced fractional roles; fractional CTOs, CFOs, compliance leads.

That era is fading.

As regulation tightens and institutional money enters, companies need:

This drives demand for full-time leadership, particularly across compliance, operations, finance, and security. Fractional roles won’t disappear entirely, but full-time hires will dominate by 2026.

Despite bold claims, AI will not replace skilled executive recruiters, especially at C-suite level.

AI can:

But it cannot replace:

Recruiters with deep experience, strong judgement, and genuine human insight will outperform AI, not be replaced by it.
By 2026, the gap between commodity recruiters and true executive search partners will widen dramatically.

One trend worth calling out explicitly: regulation is changing who gets hired.

Boards are increasingly prioritising leaders with:

This doesn’t mean crypto-native talent is losing relevance, but leaders who combine crypto fluency with institutional discipline will dominate hiring decisions.

Crypto leadership talent in 2026 will be shaped by deeper institutional involvement, AI enablement, and far more deliberate, strategic people initiatives.

I’m genuinely excited for what 2026 has in store and I hope you are too.

See you in the new year.

Sam