Bitwise CEO Urges AI-Laid-Off Engineers to Try Crypto

Hunter Horsley, chief executive of Bitwise, urged engineers who lost jobs in recent AI-driven layoffs to consider careers in crypto. He made the appeal in conversations with Silicon Valley employees as hiring in parts of the crypto sector increases.

Horsley pointed to the industry’s unfinished projects and high-profile fraud as areas where experienced engineers can contribute. He compared joining crypto now to joining a major AI startup before broad adoption and told employees the sector needs skilled technical staff. He added, “We need talented, professional, pragmatic people.”

The hiring pickup includes roles in protocol design, backend engineering, product management and security. Large financial firms including JPMorgan, BlackRock and Citi have posted digital-asset openings and are recruiting candidates who combine blockchain experience with traditional finance and compliance knowledge. Some of those roles include base salaries reported near $300,000.

Native crypto firms have reduced headcount in recent cycles while established banks and asset managers expand digital-asset teams. Those institutions are building tokenized asset platforms, custody services and compliance-focused products that require hybrid technical and regulatory skills.

The broader tech labor market is shifting as companies automate tasks and increase spending on compute for AI projects. Some workers at leading AI and chip companies have seen significant equity gains, while others have lost jobs. Several firms report that costs tied to AI agents and compute have begun to outpace spending on employee salaries, and at least one company exhausted a planned AI budget early because of token costs.

Entrepreneurs and investors have urged young builders to act quickly. Justin Sun encouraged early-career engineers to pursue opportunities now, saying the AI era rewards swift execution.

Industry observers say whether displaced engineers move into crypto will depend on hiring momentum and the quality of projects and roles available in the coming months.

Available crypto positions span technical and product tracks, including protocol engineering, smart contract work, backend systems, product management and security engineering. Financial firms hiring into digital-asset teams are offering roles that require knowledge of blockchain technology alongside regulatory and compliance experience.