Crypto analytics platform Dune has laid off approximately 25% of its workforce as the company restructures around artificial intelligence tools and institutional onchain data services. The move highlights how AI is rapidly transforming not only traditional tech companies, but also core infrastructure firms operating throughout the crypto industry.
Dune CEO Says Company Is Refocusing Around AI
Dune CEO Fredrik Haga confirmed the layoffs publicly, stating the company is restructuring to focus more heavily on AI-powered data products and institutional services tied to blockchain markets. In a post on X, Haga said Dune had “let 25% of the team go this week” while emphasizing that the company remains financially stable and focused on long-term growth.
Dune built its reputation by making onchain blockchain data accessible through SQL-powered dashboards and analytics tools widely used across crypto research, DeFi, NFTs, and institutional trading. Over time, the platform became one of the most important crypto data providers for analysts, developers, journalists, traders, and protocols. Now the company says AI is fundamentally changing how users interact with blockchain data.
Dune Betting Heavily on AI Agents and Automation
According to Haga, Dune’s future strategy revolves around two major shifts:
- AI-powered crypto analytics
- Institutions increasingly moving financial activity onchain
A major part of the company’s AI push involves a product called Dune MCP, which allows users and AI agents to build dashboards, analytics workflows, and data queries without needing SQL expertise or deep data infrastructure knowledge. The company believes AI-powered interfaces will dramatically lower the technical barrier for accessing blockchain analytics, allowing institutions and enterprises to interact with crypto data more efficiently.
Haga argued that Dune’s advantage comes from already having built a full-stack blockchain data infrastructure including:
- Data ingestion
- Cleaning and normalization
- Storage systems
- Query infrastructure
- Analytics tooling
The layoffs appear tied to the company’s belief that AI systems can increasingly automate portions of the analytics and workflow process previously handled by larger teams.
Institutions Moving Onchain Becoming Major Opportunity
Dune also said it is aggressively positioning itself for the next wave of institutional blockchain adoption as traditional finance increasingly moves onchain.
The company believes assets such as:
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Stablecoins
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Treasury products
will increasingly operate through blockchain infrastructure over the coming years.
As a result, Dune plans to invest more heavily in enterprise-grade data services and dedicated institutional client infrastructure rather than focusing primarily on crypto-native retail analytics users. The shift reflects a broader trend happening across the industry where blockchain infrastructure companies are pivoting toward institutional finance, tokenization, AI systems, and enterprise applications.
AI-Driven Layoffs Expanding Across Tech and Crypto
Dune’s workforce reduction is part of a much larger wave of AI-related layoffs spreading across technology and crypto firms throughout 2026.
Several major companies including:
- Block
- Coinbase
- Crypto.com
- Cisco
- Cloudflare
- Meta
have all recently announced workforce reductions while citing AI efficiency gains and automation initiatives. Critics argue some companies may be using AI as a convenient justification for broader cost-cutting measures, while others believe AI genuinely allows smaller teams to produce significantly more output than before.
Within crypto specifically, AI tools are rapidly changing areas including:
- Trading
- Blockchain analytics
- Customer support
- Smart contract auditing
- Market research
- Content creation
- Compliance monitoring
The shift is creating growing uncertainty about how many traditional crypto industry roles may ultimately become automated.
Dune Says It Remains Financially Strong
Despite the layoffs, Haga stressed that Dune remains “well capitalized” and positioned for future growth. The company did not indicate financial distress as the primary reason for the cuts. Dune has survived multiple crypto market cycles since launching in 2018 while many competing analytics firms either shut down or dramatically scaled back operations.
The company’s data infrastructure continues powering large portions of the crypto ecosystem, particularly among DeFi analysts, researchers, and institutional trading firms. Haga also praised departing employees publicly, describing them as “exceptional people” and encouraging other companies to hire them.
