Have you ever watched the market bleed for months and still wondered how some people keep smiling all the way to the bank?
In 2025 the crypto sector delivered exactly that surreal scene. Most publicly traded crypto companies saw their shares absolutely hammered, yet a select group of CEOs and founders managed to stuff their pockets fuller than ever. Golden parachutes, downside-protected bonuses, private jet allowances routed through personal LLCs — you name it, someone figured out how to get it while shareholders watched their portfolios evaporate.
Honestly, it leaves you torn between admiration for the sheer contractual creativity and a healthy dose of “wait, is this even fair?”
When the Stock Falls but the Paycheck Doesn’t
The basic playbook is surprisingly simple once you peel back the layers: structure compensation so heavily in upfront cash, restricted units with accelerated vesting, or options struck at rock-bottom prices that a sinking share price barely registers. Add some personal perks, route everything through a friendly entity, and suddenly market performance becomes… optional.
Let’s walk through some of the standout examples that raised eyebrows this year — without naming the outlets that first dug into the filings, because the SEC documents speak for themselves.
The Bitcoin Treasury Pioneer Who Keeps Winning
One of the loudest names in the Bitcoin corporate treasury movement continues to be its best-paid evangelist. While the common stock lost a stomach-churning chunk of its value, the founder’s personal fortune actually swelled.
How? A combination of super-voting Class B shares that keep control ironclad, a generous tranche of stock options, and convertible instruments that convert at prices nobody else gets. When the average investor is down 60-70%, the founder’s net worth ticks higher because dilution barely touches the special class.
It’s perfectly legal, brilliantly executed, and — depending on who you ask — either genius capital allocation or a masterclass in heads-I-win-tails-you-lose.
“Voting control plus asymmetric economics equals permanent upside.”
— A phrase you’ll hear whispered in certain Telegram groups
The Podcaster Turned SPAC Target
Perhaps the most creatively structured deal of the year belongs to a well-known crypto influencer and podcast host attempting to take his investment firm public via a SPAC merger.
The proposed package was eye-watering: multi-million dollar cash component, equity grants that vest even if the stock collapses post-merger, plus a “make-whole” provision that basically guarantees a floor on his payout no matter how badly shareholders fare.
One activist investor who amassed a 7.7% stake wasn’t having it. He fired off a public letter announcing he would vote against the deal in its current form, calling the compensation terms “shareholder unfriendly” in language that was, let’s say, not exactly diplomatic.
Last I checked, the fight is still ongoing. These public spats rarely end quietly.
Private Jets and Consulting Fees Through Personal Entities
Another fascinating case involves a CEO who also happens to be a prominent political donor and Bitcoin advocate. His company — focused on holding Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset — saw its stock absolutely crater.
Yet his total haul included a signing bonus, ongoing consulting fees, restricted stock units, performance bonuses, and — my personal favorite — unlimited personal use of the corporate jet, all paid to an LLC he controls.
When you route perks through a personal entity, the optics get… interesting. Technically compliant, undeniably lavish.
The Mining CEO and the Solana Treasury Play
Over in the mining and staking corner, two more examples stand out.
- A Bitcoin mining CEO received a significant salary bump and equity package while the stock traded flat-to-down most of the year.
- A smaller company that loaded up on Solana as its primary treasury asset awarded its leader salary plus warrants — even as the share price dipped below the spot value of the Solana bag.
In both cases the boards appear to have decided that retaining leadership through a bear market justifies premium pay. Shareholders, meanwhile, are left hoping for the eventual rebound that makes those grants look reasonable again.
DeFi Development’s Milestone-Driven Bonuses
Not every package was purely defensive. One DeFi-focused public company kept it aggressive: the CEO earns a base of just over half a million but can double that — and more — with a 200% bonus tied to revenue and product milestones.
When the milestones hit, nobody complains. When they don’t… well, the base still pays the bills nicely.
Why This Matters Beyond the Obvious Envy
Sure, it’s easy to roll your eyes at private jets while retail bags turn red. But there are bigger questions underneath the surface.
First, alignment of interest. When executives structure pay that thrives in down markets, the incentive to fight tooth-and-nail for share price recovery can weaken. Why rush risky turnarounds if your lifestyle is already secured?
Second, governance. Independent directors are supposed to push back on excessive packages. When they don’t — or when they’re hand-picked by founders with super-voting shares — the checks and balances everyone loves to talk about start looking ceremonial.
Third, reputation risk for the entire sector. Crypto already fights the “get rich quick” stereotype. Stories of CEOs cashing out while shareholders suffer don’t exactly help the narrative when regulators and traditional finance are watching closely.
Every time a high-profile executive extracts outsized pay during a downturn, it gives ammunition to the very critics the industry claims to have moved past.
On the flip side, let’s be real: competing for top talent in a volatile, 24/7 industry isn’t cheap. The best engineers and executives can always jump to hedge funds, Big Tech, or start their own thing. Boards that underpay risk losing the few people who actually know how to navigate bear markets.
The trick is finding the balance — generous enough to retain talent, structured in a way that still hurts when shareholders hurt.
Lessons for Retail Investors
- Read the proxy statements. Seriously. The real story is in the compensation tables and related-party disclosures, not the press release.
- Watch voting share structures. Ten-to-one voting rights sound harmless until you realize your vote is decorative.
- Pay attention to downside-protected awards. If management wins even when you lose, ask yourself whether that’s the team you want to back long-term.
- Don’t underestimate activist shareholders. One loud investor with a 5-10% stake can sometimes force changes that benefit everyone else.
I’ve been through enough cycles to know that today’s villain sometimes becomes tomorrow’s visionary when the market turns. But memory in crypto is short, and resentment lingers.
The companies that figure out how to pay aggressively while still tying the bulk of compensation to long-term shareholder value are the ones that tend to earn back trust when the bull eventually returns.
Until then? Keep your eyes on the filings. Because while the charts might be red, some wallets are very much in the green.
And in crypto, that’s just another Tuesday.
