A recent report highlights the compensation challenges faced by Ethereum core developers. Despite their critical role in maintaining Ethereum's infrastructure, many earn significantly less than market rates—$140,000 in fiat compensation versus a $300,000 external offer. Protocol Guild (PG) offers an 'equity-like' compensation model which helps close the gap, adding a median of $67,121 to developers' earnings. However, only 37% receive any equity or token grants from their employers. Compounding the issue, certain roles within Ethereum show striking disparities, such as research roles earning a median of $215,000 compared to client development roles at $130,000. To date, PG has distributed over $32 million to contributors through a transparent funding mechanism funded by ecosystem projects. Despite these efforts, retention risks remain high, with 59% of developers citing PG as crucial to their decision to remain in Ethereum. As PG operates outside traditional corporate structures, its future scalability is essential for maintaining the developer ecosystem's health.

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