Bitwise Asset Management has reduced its workforce by approximately 14%, bringing its global headcount down to around 155 employees as the crypto investment manager navigates a prolonged market downturn.
The layoffs were completed last week, according to CEO Hunter Horsley, who said the restructuring is intended to position the company for continued growth despite weaker conditions across the broader digital asset market.
Horsley said the workforce adjustment leaves Bitwise well positioned to capitalize on the continued integration of crypto into the global economy.
The staff reduction comes as Bitwise’s investment products face mixed market conditions. While several newer products have attracted significant inflows, the firm’s Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, known by its ticker BITW, saw its net assets decline by approximately 31% during the first seven months of 2026.
BITW Assets Decline as Crypto Market Weakens
BITW provides investors with diversified exposure to a basket of major cryptocurrencies, making its asset base particularly sensitive to movements across the broader digital asset market.
The 31% decline in net assets reflects the pressure that falling crypto prices have placed on investment products during the current market downturn.
However, the decline has not been uniform across Bitwise’s product lineup.
The asset manager has continued launching new investment vehicles and has recorded strong demand for several products focused on individual crypto assets and emerging blockchain ecosystems.
In May, Bitwise’s Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund recorded approximately $19 million in inflows in a single trading session, which was its largest daily inflow at the time.
Horsley said the ETF generated roughly $22 million in trading volume during that session, suggesting that most of the activity was driven by purchases rather than selling.
The fund launched on the New York Stock Exchange on May 15 with a 0.34% sponsor fee. The fee was waived during the first month on the first $500 million in assets.
Bitwise has also reported strong demand for its XRP-related investment products. In June, Horsley said the company’s XRP exchange-traded products across the United States and Europe had attracted more than $200 million in inflows since the beginning of 2026.
The contrasting performance highlights the challenges facing crypto asset managers: established broad-market products can suffer when token prices fall, while newer or more specialized products can continue attracting capital when investor interest shifts toward particular ecosystems.
Bitwise Continues Expanding Through Acquisitions
Despite reducing its workforce, Bitwise has continued expanding its business through acquisitions.
In February, the company completed its acquisition of Chorus One, an institutional staking provider. The transaction expanded Bitwise’s staking capabilities and strengthened its services for institutional crypto investors.
The acquisition reflects Bitwise’s broader strategy of building a business that extends beyond traditional crypto asset management.
Rather than relying exclusively on management fees from investment products, the company has been expanding into areas such as staking and other infrastructure-related services that could provide additional sources of revenue as institutional adoption develops.
The workforce reduction therefore comes after a period of expansion, with Bitwise simultaneously launching new products, acquiring businesses and adjusting its cost structure to reflect current market conditions.
Institutional Investors Continue to Enter During Market Corrections
Bitwise has also pointed to continued interest from wealthier and institutional investors despite the market downturn.
Earlier this year, Horsley disclosed that one of the firm’s wealth-management clients invested approximately $11 million in Bitcoin during a market correction after maintaining contact with Bitwise for roughly two years without making a previous crypto investment.
The investment was reportedly the client’s first exposure to digital assets.
Such activity suggests that some high-net-worth investors are treating market corrections as opportunities to establish positions rather than simply reducing their exposure to crypto.
That dynamic could become increasingly important for asset managers such as Bitwise as traditional wealth-management platforms and advisers gain greater access to regulated cryptocurrency investment products.
Bitwise Joins Broader Wave of Crypto Layoffs
Bitwise’s workforce reduction is part of a wider restructuring trend across the cryptocurrency industry in 2026.
Several major crypto companies have reduced headcount while attempting to operate more efficiently and redirect resources toward areas expected to drive future growth.
BitGo cut nearly 15% of its workforce in June as the crypto infrastructure company shifted resources toward security, trading, stablecoins, settlement and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Coinbase announced a workforce reduction of approximately 14% in May. CEO Brian Armstrong attributed the decision partly to the market cycle and partly to the company’s increasing adoption of artificial intelligence, arguing that smaller teams can accomplish more with AI-powered tools.
Kraken also reportedly eliminated approximately 150 positions in May as it increased its use of AI across its operations. The restructuring reportedly raised questions about the timing of the exchange’s planned U.S. public listing.
Dune Analytics reduced its workforce by approximately 25% during the same month, with CEO Fredrik Haga pointing to AI as a major factor behind the restructuring.
Polygon Labs conducted another round of layoffs in July while reorganizing its operations around payments and working to complete its acquisition of Coinme.
The common theme across these reductions is not simply weaker crypto prices. Companies are also restructuring around automation, AI, stablecoins, payments and other areas that they believe will generate stronger long-term growth.
Bitwise Remains Bullish on Bitcoin’s Long-Term Outlook
Despite the layoffs and decline in BITW’s assets, Bitwise’s investment leadership remains relatively optimistic about the broader crypto market.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan recently suggested that Bitcoin may already have reached the bottom of the current crypto downturn.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Hougan pointed to Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of several negative developments, including uncertainty surrounding the CLARITY Act and Bitcoin sales by Strategy.
His argument is based partly on Bitcoin’s ability to absorb negative news without experiencing a deeper market collapse.
Bitcoin had previously recovered after Strategy disclosed the sale of approximately 3,588 BTC for around $216 million, with the company saying the proceeds were used to fund dividends associated with its Digital Credit securities.
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley also highlighted Bitcoin’s resilience at the time, writing that the asset appeared to be showing signs of strength despite the selling pressure.
Wealth Management Platforms Could Drive the Next Bull Market
Hougan also identified traditional wealth-management platforms as a potential catalyst for the next phase of crypto adoption.
According to his view, large wealth-management firms could become a relatively quiet but powerful source of new capital as cryptocurrency products become more accessible to mainstream investors.
The continued expansion of regulated exchange-traded products could make it easier for financial advisers and wealth managers to allocate client capital to Bitcoin and other digital assets without requiring direct ownership of cryptocurrency.
If institutional distribution expands while market conditions improve, asset managers such as Bitwise could benefit from a new wave of capital entering the sector.
What Comes Next for Bitwise
Bitwise is now balancing two competing realities.
The company is cutting costs and reducing its workforce at a time when its flagship crypto index fund has experienced a significant decline in assets. At the same time, it continues to expand through acquisitions, launch new investment products and attract capital into selected crypto-focused vehicles.
The 14% workforce reduction therefore appears less like a retreat from crypto and more like an effort to align the company’s cost structure with current market conditions while preserving its ability to invest in areas with stronger long-term potential.
The performance of BITW, continued demand for specialized crypto ETFs, institutional adoption and the eventual direction of Bitcoin will remain important indicators of whether Bitwise’s strategy can translate its current expansion efforts into sustained growth.
For now, the company is positioning itself for the next market cycle while operating with a smaller team and a broader product and services portfolio than it had at the start of the year.
