Bitwise BITW job cuts hit 14% as assets drop 31% in 2026
Bitwise Asset Management has cut 14% of its workforce, shrinking its global team to about 155 employees, citing the prolonged crypto market downturn. CEO Hunter Horsley said the layoffs were completed last week and position the firm for continued growth as crypto integrates further into the global economy.
The move comes as Bitwise’s flagship index product, the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW), saw net assets fall 31% during the first seven months of 2026. BITW tracks a basket of major cryptocurrencies, so the decline reflects broader pressure on crypto-linked investment products.
Despite the job cuts, Bitwise continues product expansion. In May, its Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund recorded around $19 million in inflows in a single day, with roughly $22 million in trading volume. Horsley also noted that Bitwise’s XRP exchange-traded products in the US and Europe collected more than $200 million in inflows since the start of 2026.
Bitwise also referenced an acquisition trend: in February, it completed the purchase of institutional staking provider Chorus One to expand staking services.
On market outlook, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said Bitcoin may already have bottomed, pointing to Bitcoin’s ability to hold up amid negative headlines such as delays around the CLARITY Act and Strategy-related BTC sales. He also suggested large wealth management platforms could act as a “quiet catalyst” for the next bull market.
Overall, this is a cost-efficiency response to a weak tape, but it’s paired with ongoing ETF/flow activity and a cautious bullish framing for BTC.
Neutral
Neutral overall. The headline is a bearish signal for company fundamentals: a 14% workforce reduction and a 31% drop in BITW net assets indicate demand pressure during the downturn. This can weigh on sentiment toward crypto investment products in the short term.
However, the article also includes offsetting positives. Bitwise is still seeing tangible flows (e.g., large one-day inflows for its Hyperliquid ETF and $200M+ inflows for XRP ETPs), and it continues expanding via acquisitions like Chorus One. In past bear markets, firms that maintain regulated product distribution and scaling tend to recover faster when liquidity returns.
For Bitcoin price action, the CIO’s “potential bottom” framing is supportive but not decisive. Market direction will still depend on macro liquidity and ETF/whale flows. If BITW stabilization and broader allocation improve, it could reduce downside pressure over the medium term.
Net: short term sentiment may soften due to BITW drawdowns and layoffs, but the ongoing product traction plus the BTC bottom narrative makes the overall impact more balanced than purely bearish.