Crypto is heading to Washington as part of a broader advocacy campaign to "spread the good word," as one founder put it, to elected officials, Crystal writes.

Why it matters: 👈 That's exactly what the dozens of crypto founders hitting the nation's capital tomorrow are seeking to impress on their representatives, and others aligned with the industry.

• Coinbase organized the day as part of its "Stand With Crypto" grassroots effort to spur pro-crypto policy.

What they're saying: "The objective is to help policymakers understand the importance of thoughtful innovation," Lisa Francoeur, cofounder of Florida-based business-t0-business education firm Crypto Tutors, said.

Details: Francoeur is just one of the founders — a group spanning several states including California, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas — set to take part in the event.

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong will be there too.

The big picture: The crypto execs who spoke with Axios say they are just small business owners — and many will be in D.C. in an advocate's capacity for the first time.

• They want to see how government works, and if it works for them, in spite of the industry they work in.

The intrigue: The event lands on the same day that crypto public enemy No. 1, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, is set to appear before the House Financial Services Committee about the agency's oversight.

• The regulator's liberal use of enforcement action to curb crypto practices will likely be a topic of interest.
• A few founders told Axios they may attend.

Zoom in: "The most important thing is for Congress to create bipartisan crypto regulation. To give clear direction without killing it," Rob Richardson, founder of Ohio-based Disrupt Art, said.

• Richardson said he's "cautiously optimistic" that the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act will pass through the next Congress, but he also said, "It's probably a long shot."

The other side: For some, a win is just being heard.

• "If we walk away with a follow-up with our congressperson, that's a win," Marlon Williams, founder of research and data firm Atlanta Blockchain Center. "We need our government to get on board."
• "I'm super excited to join other companies to spread the good word and help educate our policymakers," said Mike Sall, CEO of California-based Warbler Labs, which is behind the DeFi credit protocol Goldfinch.

The bottom line: For Coinbase there are both near-term and long-term measures of success, according to head of U.S. policy Kara Calvert.

• "Two things: The immediate reaction from members of Congress — a willingness to engage and have those conversations," she said.
• "The second metric is the vote in November on Fit21 and the stablecoin bill moving at the same time."

Much of crypto might feel undesirable in North America, but it's where the better-paying engineering jobs are, Crystal writes.

Driving the news: Venture shop Pantera Capital just released its survey-based jobs report, updating December 2022 figures. (See more below)

Zoom in: The median base salary for engineers in North America was $166,010, compared with the global median salary of $128,000, per the survey of 570 full-time crypto engineers.

• Median salaries for crypto engineers in the region are generally flat year-over-year, though engineers with the most seniority (6+ years) saw an uptick.
• "During bear cycles, startups focus on senior hires because they're trying to stay lean," Nick Zurick, head of portfolio talent at Pantera Capital, said.

What we're watching: Any signs of a bull cycle in subsequent data.

• "From a talent perspective, once the market turns around, teams will grow, firms will start to hire mid- and early-career developers and those salaries will start to rebound," Zurick said.

Of note: One survey respondent, a software engineer in the U.S. said they made $400,000 annually — an outlier.

• Our thought bubble: 🧐

Here's a window into how folks in crypto work, Crystal writes.

• Pantera's survey covered more than 1,600 people in 77 countries, representing all corners of the industry including centralized exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs and gaming.

Between the lines: Crypto is mostly remote — nearly 90% said they work from home. And prefer cash.

• The vast majority of survey respondents said they were paid a base salary in fiat, with only 3% paid in crypto.
• Those who are paid in crypto prefer Circle's USDC, though some accept USDT and BTC.

The intrigue: Pantera attributes the dearth of crypto-based remuneration to the fact that few payroll providers support those payments.

• Yes, but: One payroll service provider, Deel, chalked it up to the "state of the crypto market," saying folks have lost interest in receiving payments that way.
• Deel saw a decline in BTC, USDC, and SOL payments, but ETH distributions tripled, comparing 2022 year-end withdrawals with the first half of 2023.

Of note: Still, 1 in 5 surveyed people said they got token incentive packages.

• The median for non-execs was $89,000, and $1.3 million for folks in the C-suite.
• Median packages for the U.S. were $200,000 compared with the global median of $64,000.

🫠 Inside Binance's meltdown. (The Wall Street Journal)

😲 The creator behind the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol rolled out another, called Runes, dedicated to fungible tokens. (Decrypt)

🛑 JPMorgan's U.K. bank to stop customers from buying crypto. (The Block)

The problem with livestreaming everything, is everything gets livestreamed, Crystal writes.

Zoom in: YouTube crypto influencer Ben Armstrong is railing against former partners of the BitBoy Crypto show after they kicked him off.

• Some enterprising individual put this video to music, where Armstrong says: "I'm not scared of you" and "You're all going to prison."

Plot twist: Armstrong was arrested Monday evening in Georgia by Gwinnett County police while he livestreamed in front of his ex-partner's house alleging he stole Armstrong's Lamborghini.

• There is footage of it, and that video is going viral.
• This wouldn't be Armstrong's first time making unexpected visits — he also tried to corner Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas.

What he's saying: "My name is Ben and I'm a loiterer. I did 8 whole hours in the slammer," Armstrong said on social media.

Quicktake: 🫥