Web3 Is Booming. Finding the People to Build It Is the Real Challenge.
The Web3 market is exploding. Blockchain, DeFi, tokenized assets, AI agents on-chain — the infrastructure of the next internet is being built right now. And the companies racing to build it are running into the same wall: they can't find enough people who actually know how to do it.
This isn't a funding problem. It isn't a technology problem. It's a talent problem. And it's about to get a lot worse before it gets better.
The Web3 Talent Market — Where Things Actually Stand
Web3 is no longer experimental. Stablecoins processed $5.7 trillion in transfers in 2024. The EU's MiCA framework is live. The U.S. passed the GENIUS Act in mid-2025. Institutional money is flowing — and with it, a massive hiring surge.
The numbers tell the story. The Web3 sector now employs over 460,000 professionals globally, with roughly 100,000 new jobs created in the last 12 months alone. Job postings have surged 300% since 2023. Over 3,700 new Web3 positions are being added every single month.
But here's the catch: demand is outpacing supply — fast.
Web3 Talent by the Numbers (2025)
| Metric | Global | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Web3 professionals worldwide | 460,000+ | Part of 600K+ IT talent pool |
| Web3 job postings growth (2023–2025) | 300% surge | 400+ active blockchain jobs |
| Monthly new Web3 roles added | 3,700+ | Growing — Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław |
| Top in-demand skills | Rust, Solidity, AI/ML | Strong in all three categories |
| Avg blockchain dev salary (US) | $130K–$270K | 30–50% cost advantage |
| Remote role share | 70% | Time zone: perfect for EU & US |
Who Are These People, Really?
There's a myth that Web3 is all blockchain developers writing Solidity in hoodies. Reality is messier — and more interesting.
Yes, smart contract engineers and Rust developers are in brutal demand. Blockchain programming was the fastest-growing IT skill set in recent years, and the scarcity hasn't eased. Senior smart contract auditors are getting multiple competing offers every week, with compensation pushing above $300,000 annually.
But Web3 isn't just engineers. The roles that are actually hardest to fill are the ones nobody talks about.
The T-Shaped Professionals
The market is rewarding people who combine deep expertise in one area — AI or blockchain — with working fluency in the other. Not jack-of-all-trades. Specialists who can speak both languages. AI-augmented security engineers. Protocol architects who deploy agentic workflows. Product leaders who understand both DeFi primitives and user experience.
The Compliance & Legal Layer
MiCA in Europe. GENIUS Act in the U.S. Regulatory clarity is finally arriving — and with it, a flood of demand for compliance officers, legal advisors, and AML/KYC specialists who actually understand crypto. These roles are paying $110,000–$250,000, and there aren't enough experienced people to fill them.
The Operations & Strategy Gap
Here's an underappreciated opportunity: Operations & Strategy roles in Web3 receive 4x fewer applications than engineering positions, despite offering comparable compensation. The industry is maturing from "build it and they'll come" to "orchestrate complexity at scale" — and it desperately needs people who can do that.
Why Is Web3 Hiring So Painful?
It's not just the skills gap. It's structural.
Web3 talent is concentrated in specific geographic clusters — San Francisco, London, Singapore, Dubai, Zug. Over 70% of blockchain companies report a shortage of skilled developers. The best candidates have more offers than they can handle. And the industry is now competing not just with other crypto firms, but with AI startups and traditional financial institutions expanding into digital assets.
Remote work helps — 70% of Web3 placements are remote. But sourcing, vetting, and retaining this talent from a global talent pool is a completely different challenge than traditional IT hiring. The profiles are rare. The domain knowledge requirements are deep. And the market moves fast.
Demand for blockchain developers exceeds supply. The scarcity of experts in Rust, zk-rollups, and AI-related roles is driving up salaries and increasing poaching risks.
Enter Poland
While the world is scrambling for Web3 talent, one country in Central Europe has been quietly building exactly the kind of foundation that Web3 needs. And most companies outside Europe haven't noticed yet.
Poland has over 600,000 IT professionals — the largest tech talent pool in Central and Eastern Europe. Polish developers rank #3 globally on HackerRank. And critically, they're already strong in the exact skills Web3 demands: blockchain, AI/ML, cryptography, and security.
The Blockchain Ecosystem Is Already There
Poland isn't starting from scratch. Cities like Warsaw, Kraków, and Wrocław already host active blockchain development communities. Companies like Plavno, 10Clouds, and others are shipping production-grade Web3 infrastructure. There are 400+ active blockchain and Web3 jobs listed in Poland right now — and that number is growing.
The Regulatory Advantage
MiCA is EU-wide, but Poland implemented the groundwork early and cleanly. PSD2, GDPR — all in place. For any Web3 project that needs to operate within European regulatory frameworks, Polish teams aren't just coding. They're building with compliance baked in from day one. That's not a nice-to-have in 2026. It's a requirement.
The Cost Reality
Web3 blockchain developers in the U.S. command $130,000–$270,000 plus equity and token incentives. Poland offers a 30–50% cost advantage without sacrificing quality. For companies building Web3 products at scale, that math matters.
The Web3 Talent War Is Already Happening
Here's what's not being said out loud: the competition for Web3-capable IT talent is intensifying — and Poland is right in the middle of it.
Google, Microsoft, IBM, and dozens of other tech giants already operate in Warsaw. Add Kraków's tech scene, Wrocław's R&D infrastructure, and you have a talent market that's both deep and increasingly competitive. For Web3 companies trying to build teams quickly, this creates the same problem as everywhere else: the talent exists, but finding it, hiring it, and keeping it is where most companies get stuck.
The difference is that in Poland, the gap between "we need Web3 talent" and "we have Web3 talent" is smaller than almost anywhere else in Europe.
Why the Old Hiring Model Doesn't Work Here
The traditional approach — post a job, interview candidates, hire individually — is too slow for Web3. The talent is scarce, the domain knowledge is deep, and the market moves faster than most HR processes.
The old model of outsourcing doesn't work either. Not for Web3. You can't just hand off blockchain development to a generic dev shop and hope for the best. Web3 requires teams that understand the protocol layer, the security implications, the regulatory context — and how all of it fits together.
What works is a different model entirely. Integrated, managed teams that operate as part of your organization. Teams where the risk of hiring, performance, and continuity sits with the provider — not with you. People who aren't just coding your product. They're building it with you.
Our people are your people. The risk is on our side.
That's the model that works for Web3 in 2026. Not outsourcing as cost-cutting. Talent-as-a-Service as infrastructure.
What This Means for Web3 Teams in 2026
If you're building anything in Web3 — DeFi, tokenized assets, on-chain AI, digital identity — the talent question isn't something you can solve later. The companies that move now, before the market gets even tighter, will have a significant advantage over the ones that wait.
Poland has the talent. The skills match what Web3 actually needs. The regulatory environment supports it. And the cost structure makes it viable at scale.
The question isn't whether Poland will become a major Web3 talent hub. It already is.
The question is whether your team is building on that foundation — or watching someone else do it.
Poland's Web3 Moment
AI agents that transact on-chain. Tokenized real-world assets. Decentralized identity. The next layer of the internet requires a very specific kind of talent: people who can bridge cutting-edge technology with real, production-grade systems.
Poland has that talent. In volume, in quality, and in the domain depth that actually matters.
The Web3 race isn't just about who builds the best protocol. It's about who builds the best team. And increasingly, the best teams are being built in Poland.
Building a Web3 Team That Actually Delivers?
At Smart People, we help Web3 projects and blockchain teams scale with the right talent — fast. From embedded blockchain specialists to full engineering teams, we handle recruitment, onboarding, performance, and continuity. So you can focus on shipping.
Business Manager | IT Outsourcing Teams | Building Talent Hubs
Smart People
📧 andrzej.rakowski@smartpeople.com.pl
🔗 LinkedIn: Andrzej Rakowski - Pan od IT - Mr. IT