Crypto data firm Dune is cutting roughly a quarter of its workforce as the analytics company reshapes its business around core data products and artificial intelligence tools
The job cuts, announced by co-founder and CEO Fredrik Haga on Thursday, comes at a time when the digital assets industry is going through a turmoil with behemoths like Coinbase and Crypto.com jumping recently transitioning to AI workflows and announcing layoffs.
In a post on X, Haga said the company is restructuring to focus more heavily on the data services and analytics products relied upon by thousands of users across the crypto industry.
He said the decision unfortunately resulted in layoffs affecting 25 percent of Dune’s team this week. To pacify things, Haga described the departing employees as highly talented and encouraged other firms in the industry to hire them.
Dune layoffs in tandem with market trend
Dune’s job cuts follow a wider market trend amid efforts by various cryptocurrency firms to realign their operations regarding priorities, cost management, and business sustainability plans. The trend has become a devastating reality, especially for crypto media and data firms.
Industry giants that have announced major job cuts include Coinbase, which fired 14 percent of its workforce, Crypto.com, which has laid off 12 percent of its workers, and Gemini, which has trimmed down its workforce by roughly 30 percent.
Even though the unfavorable trading environment has been cited as one of the reasons for job cuts in some companies, streamlining appears to be the common objective for most companies.
That coupled with a goal to reduce costs and build businesses that are more focused on AI-powered products and long-term efficiency, have resulted in a spree of firms announcing job cuts.
Earlier this year, Blockworks and DL News both shut down their newsroom operations as they shifted resources toward research-driven and data-focused products.
Beyond crypto, fintech firms such as Block have also reduced headcount, with several companies increasingly citing efficiencies created by artificial intelligence tools.
AI restructure main reason for job cuts
Haga in his X post specifically pointed to AI as one of the driving forces behind Dune’s restructuring.
He highlighted the company’s “Dune MCP” system, which allows users and AI agents to build dashboards and workflows without requiring deep technical knowledge of SQL or expensive data infrastructure.
According to him, AI is becoming a central feature across Dune’s product suite and future strategy.
At the same time, Dune believes demand for blockchain data services will continue growing as more traditional financial assets move onchain.
Haga said assets such as currencies, stocks, bonds and commodities are increasingly entering blockchain ecosystems, creating stronger demand for institutional-grade analytics and support services.
Despite the workforce reduction, Dune has stressed that the firm remains financially strong and “well capitalized.” The company last raised funding during a 2022 Series B round led by Coatue, securing $69.42 million.