BusinessAug 12, 2026

Bitwise Cuts Headcount 14% to ~155 Staff as Crypto Market Slumps

Bitwise Asset Management trimmed its global team from about 180 to roughly 155 employees last week amid the crypto downturn.

Marcus Hale

Markets Editor. Marcus covers macro, ETFs and the

2 min read

Bitwise Cuts Headcount 14% to ~155 Staff as Crypto Market Slumps

Bitwise Asset Management has cut roughly 14% of its workforce, shrinking its global headcount from about 180 to around 155 employees, as the crypto asset manager adjusts to a sustained market downturn. The reduction, confirmed by Chief Executive Hunter Horsley, took place last week.

The cuts touch the San Francisco-based firm at a moment when digital-asset prices have weakened broadly, squeezing revenue for asset managers whose fees are tied to assets under management. A 14% reduction in staff is a material trim for a firm of Bitwise’s size, and it puts the company alongside a growing list of crypto businesses paring back headcount as the market cools.

The numbers behind the cut

Bitwise’s headcount now sits at approximately 155, down from nearly 180 before the layoffs. That is a loss of roughly 25 positions, translating to the reported 14% reduction. Horsley told The Block that the trim brought the firm’s global team down to that level as of last week.

Bitwise has built its business around exchange-traded products and other investment vehicles tied to crypto assets, a segment that boomed as spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs drew in institutional flows earlier in the cycle. But asset managers in this space are directly exposed to swings in crypto prices, since management fees scale with the value of assets under management — meaning a market drawdown compresses revenue even without a change in client count.

CEO points to growth despite the reduction

Despite the smaller team, Horsley has signaled confidence in the firm’s longer-term trajectory, telling reporters he expects Bitwise to grow going forward even after the layoffs. Neither source detailed which departments or regions were most affected, nor whether further reductions are planned.

Why it matters for the market

Bitwise’s cuts are a concrete data point on how the current crypto downturn is feeding through to the operating costs of firms that build products around digital assets. For investors and traders, staff reductions at a prominent ETF issuer and asset manager are a signal of the pressure many crypto-native businesses are facing as trading volumes and asset prices soften — even as some executives, like Horsley, continue to frame the moment as a temporary adjustment rather than a retreat from the sector.