In this episode of Bitcoin Stories, host Sunny Ray talks with Nico, a fintech recruiter who has specialized in bitcoin and crypto hiring for years and still gets paid in BTC. Nico shares how he stumbled into crypto in 2016 after a client offered to pay him in bitcoin, an entry point that coincided with the Mike Hearn rage quit and the segwit wars. He describes his early skepticism about bitcoin's legitimacy, his childhood relationship with money, and the psychological shift required to take self custody seriously. Nico also recounts selling Ethereum too early during the ICO era, working with clients like Casa, Exodus, and Lightning Network, and building a recruiting career around github sourcing rather than traditional resumes. He breaks down current engineering salary ranges for solidity and dap developers, explains why writing clearly correlates with coding well, and offers practical advice for bitcoin startups trying to attract mission driven engineering talent in a competitive hiring market.
An OG bitcoin recruiter who still gets paid in BTC breaks down crypto hiring, salaries, and how he sources talent on github.
How did you first get into bitcoin?
I'm a recruiter, not a finance or engineering person, so it was pure serendipity. A client offered to pay me in bitcoin and I had to figure out if it was even real money since all I'd heard was that drug dealers used it. That curiosity forced me to learn how to set up a wallet and register on an exchange, which back then was QuadrigaCX.
What was it about bitcoin that hooked you?
I'd traveled a lot, and it clicked that this was a global currency. I realized I could cross a border without declaring cash and just carry the seed words in my head. That blew my mind. It felt like something people genuinely needed, and that was the hook that got me listening to podcasts and following people on Twitter.
What was your relationship with money before bitcoin?
It was very childish and paternalistic. I put my money in the bank and trusted a financial advisor to take care of it, never really exploring what money meant. Realizing I'd have to hold my own private keys freaked me out. It took almost a year psychologically to prepare myself to take full responsibility for my own financial destiny.
How did you land big name clients like Casa and Exodus?
Honestly, serendipity, being in the right place at the right time, hustle, and word of mouth referrals. It's a pretty small ecosystem, so if you're in it long enough people have either heard of you or know someone who does. I've worked with Casa, Exodus, and Lightning Network, and I still get paid in bitcoin by some of them.
What tech stack should companies be hiring for right now?
On the application layer it's mostly JavaScript, React, Node, GraphQL, and MongoDB or SQL. On the protocol layer people want Python and C plus plus. There's also huge demand for dapp developers who know Solidity for smart contracts. It really depends where in the stack the role sits.
How much does a solidity engineer command right now?
The last dapp developer I placed made 180,000 US dollars base salary plus equity, but that's for someone senior with an active github and proven smart contracts on well known projects. If you've got about a year of Solidity experience as a junior, you're looking at more like 100,000 to 120,000.
Where's the best place to find engineering talent in this space?
Github, hands down. I look for people contributing to projects even if they don't work in the space yet, and if I see a pull request I'll reach out directly. I've noticed a strong correlation between people who write clearly and people who code well, so I actually look for engineers who blog and document their work cleanly.
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