Woofun AI reports that the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), backed by Ripple Labs, projects the crypto industry will contribute $55 billion to the US economy by 2026 through salaries, spending, and output.

Released Wednesday by the Pragmatic Policy Group, the analysis attributes this total to direct, indirect, and induced employment.

Woofun AI data shows investments in securities and commodity contracts lead sector contributions at $9.7 billion, followed by housing and real estate at $4.8 billion. Direct employment stands at 34,000 people, supporting a total of 232,000 jobs across the economy. This direct headcount exceeds that of the coffee and tea manufacturing and aerospace industries.

Regionally, Texas, Washington, North Carolina, California, and New York employ the most industry workers. Colorado is identified as a "growing blockchain hub" due to friendly regulatory policies, while North Dakota is "becoming an energy-integrated digital infrastructure hub" thanks to tax laws favoring crypto mining and favorable flare gas policies. The NCA launched in March 2025 as a non-profit focused on consumer crypto education, with $50 million in backing from Ripple. Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, heads the group.

Despite macroeconomic growth, several digital asset projects announced they would be shuttering operations this year due to difficulty with scaling and market conditions. Entropy, a New York-based crypto start-up, said in January it would shut down after four years in operation. Dmail, a Singapore-based decentralized email platform, began ceasing operations in May, citing expenses on bandwidth, storage, and computing. Decentralized autonomous organization governance platform Tally and Balancer Labs also shuttered in March.