Crypto asset manager Bitwise has let go of about 14% of its employees, shrinking its team from close to 180 people to around 155. The San Francisco-based asset manager made the cuts as a prolonged drop in crypto prices continues to pressure firms across the industry. CEO Hunter Horsley said, according to Bloomberg, that even with the reduction, the team is still larger than at most points in Bitwise’s eight-year history.
Bitwise’s Headcount Drops as Client Assets Keep Growing
Bitwise trimmed its staff by 14%, moving from close to 180 employees to about 155, even though the firm’s business has kept growing. The cuts come as digital-asset prices have stayed weak for an extended stretch, squeezing budgets at crypto firms of every size and pushing many to cut costs.
The cuts land at a firm that has grown quickly over the past two years, and they follow a familiar pattern across crypto this year: companies expanding through the last bull run are now paring back as prices stay soft for longer than many expected.
The layoffs come despite growth on the business side. Bitwise reported $15 billion in client assets in 2025, up from about $11 billion in April. That climb stands out against the timing of the cuts. The firm is managing more client money than it was earlier in its growth, even as it reduces the size of its team.
The move also marks a reversal from where Bitwise stood a year and a half ago. In February 2025, the company raised $70 million from investors specifically to grow its staff and launch new crypto products. That expansion has now given way to cost-cutting as 2026 market conditions weighed on the business.
Bitwise has kept building its product lineup elsewhere during this stretch, including a spot XRP ETF that launched on the NYSE and filings for 11 more single-token ETFs covering assets such as Hyperliquid, Sui, Near and Aave.
What This Means for the Broader Crypto Job Market
Bitwise’s cuts add to a wave of layoffs across digital-asset firms this year. Crypto.com recently cut about 12% of its staff, according to CNBC, becoming the latest crypto company to point to AI adoption as part of the reasoning behind its job cuts.
For anyone newer to crypto and paying attention to the industry, this is a sign that the job market side of crypto has not recovered at the same pace as some of the technology or adoption headlines might suggest. You can track how the broader market has been performing in our crypto market news coverage.
Researchers have counted more than 7,254 disclosed job cuts across 47 crypto companies so far this year, according to TrendingTopics. That figure likely undercounts the real total, since many firms do not release exact headcount numbers when they make cuts.
What to Watch Next
Watch for Bitwise’s next assets-under-management update, since the firm’s $15 billion client asset figure as of this report is the most recent data point on how the business side is holding up against the staffing cuts. Horsley’s comments suggest the company sees the current headcount as sustainable, so any further reduction would be a signal that conditions have worsened rather than stabilized.
What this means for you: Layoffs at firms managing billions in crypto assets don’t necessarily mean the underlying business is struggling, but they do show that even well-capitalized players are cutting costs while prices stay depressed.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.
