Well, I know people working not only in Berlin, but also in USA, just not in SF. One blockchain startup from Utah wanted to develop some advanced stuff, got investors hyped, ICO and stuff.

They paid their employers quite well, really good rates. All of programmers (besides 2 founders I believe) are contractors - no equity. They negotiated their hourly rates pretty high, because they knew that even if it will be a great success, they won't get anything else than a salary.