Dune’s CEO announced Thursday that the crypto data company is cutting a quarter of its staff as part of a broader push to build out data tools for institutional investors — a segment the company sees as a major growth opportunity as more traditional financial assets move onto blockchain networks.
Betting On Institutional Demand
Fredrik Haga, Dune’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company plans to invest heavily in products and services aimed at institutions, pointing to what he described as a growing shift of currencies, stocks, bonds, and commodities onto blockchain infrastructure.
Haga also said Dune is going all-in on artificial intelligence, highlighting the company’s Model Context Protocol — a tool that lets AI systems interact directly with Dune’s platform.
According to Haga, the technology now allows teams and automated agents to build dashboards and data workflows without any knowledge of SQL or data infrastructure.
We’re restructuring Dune to sharpen our focus around the core data products thousands of customers across the crypto industry rely on. That unfortunately means we’ve let 25% of the team go this week. These are exceptional people I can wholeheartedly recommend — ping me if you’re…
— hagaetc (@hagaetc) May 14, 2026
Haga did not say how many people were affected. Dune’s LinkedIn page lists around 150 employees, which would put the number of departures somewhere around 37 to 38 people. The company remains well capitalized, Haga said.
One Cut Among Many
Dune’s announcement lands in the middle of a broader wave of job cuts hitting both crypto and tech companies this year.
Coinbase eliminated about 700 positions earlier this month — roughly 14% of its workforce — also citing a shift toward AI-driven operations.
Crypto news outlet DL News shut down entirely on Friday, with leadership pointing to declining web traffic as AI tools increasingly answer questions that users once searched for directly.
Block Inc., the payments and crypto company led by Jack Dorsey, carried out the largest single round of layoffs in crypto so far in 2026, cutting around 4,000 workers — nearly half its staff — back in February.
Exchanges Gemini and Crypto.com each reduced their headcounts earlier this year as well, with both companies citing efficiency gains from AI adoption.
Across the wider US tech sector, the scale of cuts has been significant. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows 137 companies have shed close to 109,000 jobs in 2026 so far.
A Narrower Focus Going Forward
Haga framed the layoffs not as a financial retreat but as a deliberate sharpening of the company’s direction.
Dune’s core data products are used by thousands of customers across the crypto industry, he said, and the restructuring is meant to protect and build on that foundation.
The company’s total job losses add to what reports indicate is now more than 5,000 positions cut across major crypto firms this year alone.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
