Dune cuts staff by 25%; business reorganization driven by AI transition and institutional crypto data demand

Crypto data company Dune co-founder and CEO Fredrik Haga said in a post on X on May 14 that the company is laying off about 25% of its team. He said the job cuts are part of a business reorganization to “more sharply focus on the core data products” that thousands of customers in the Crypto industry rely on to survive. Haga also confirmed the company currently has sufficient funding and is fully investing in AI technology as well as into growing institutional interest in Cryptocurrency.

Layoffs background and reorganization direction: core points confirmed by the CEO

Haga’s X post confirms that the core of this reorganization is shifting the strategic focus to core data products that serve customers in the Crypto industry. He also confirmed that Dune will “invest heavily” in its institutional data products and services, because the company believes “money, stocks, bonds, commodities, and so on” are moving onto the blockchain, so institutional demand will increase accordingly.

Dune’s AI strategy: MCP lets agents build dashboards without SQL

In his statement, Haga confirmed that Dune’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables AI systems to interact with the platform, allowing “teams and agents to now build dashboards and workflows without having to know anything about data infrastructure or SQL.” This capability is intended to lower the technical barrier for on-chain data analysis, so that non-technical users can use Dune’s data analysis capabilities.

Full picture of Crypto-industry layoffs in 2026: confirmed data for each company

According to publicly reported figures, the layoff statistics for major Crypto companies in 2026 are as follows:

Block Inc.: Laid off 4,000 employees in February 2026, about half of the total workforce

Coinbase: Laid off 700 employees on May 5, 2026 (about 14%), citing increased AI usage

Gemini: Laid off about 200 employees earlier in 2026, citing AI adoption improving efficiency

Crypto.com: Laid off about 180 employees earlier in 2026, citing AI adoption improving efficiency

Dune: Laid off about 25% in May 2026 (estimated about 37-38 people based on LinkedIn)

DL News: Closed in May 2026, partly because AI aggregators reduced search coverage

Based on Layoffs.fyi data, from 2026 to date, 137 US technology companies have cut nearly 109,000 jobs.

FAQ

About how many people will Dune have after laying off 25%?

Haga did not disclose the exact number of employees affected. Based on the roughly 150-person headcount shown on Dune’s LinkedIn page, a 25% layoff would correspond to about 37 to 38 people. In his statement, Haga confirmed the company is “well-funded,” and that the layoffs are a business reorganization decision rather than a financial crisis.

What specifically changes for non-technical users with Dune’s MCP feature?

According to Haga’s confirmation, Dune’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows AI agents to interact directly with the Dune platform. This means users do not need to know SQL or data infrastructure to build on-chain data dashboards and workflows, aiming to significantly lower the technical barrier to using Dune’s data analytics capabilities.

Why do Crypto-industry layoffs in 2026 commonly cite AI as a reason?

According to publicly reported accounts, the logic cited for AI differs among the layoffs: Coinbase and Gemini say AI tools improve efficiency and reduce reliance on headcount; Dune says it is shifting toward an AI-driven product direction and needs to reorganize its business structure; DL News says AI aggregators affected search traffic, causing the business model to be unsustainable.