ChatGPT laid off 1000 employees of the cryptocurrency industry

Since the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, the crypto industry has lost about 1,000 employees who have moved to artificial intelligence startups. At the same time, according to the State of Crypto 2025 report by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), the industry has fully compensated for these losses by attracting specialists from the technology, financial, consulting, and educational sectors. In total, between November 2022 and September 2025, about 12,000 people changed or left crypto positions, indicating a dynamic labor market.

A16z notes that although AI initially «lured away» some developers and technical specialists, the crypto market managed to resume hiring rates by attracting new personnel from other industries. The largest influx came from the tech sector, with more than 12,000 employees, while finance and consulting added about 6,000. This demonstrates the growing interaction between two innovative areas — artificial intelligence and blockchain.

At the time of ChatGPT’s launch, the crypto industry was in crisis after the collapse of the FTX exchange and the drop in venture capital funding. However, in 2025, the situation changed dramatically: the global crypto market capitalization exceeded $ 4 trillion, and Bitcoin reached new historical highs. The recovery was facilitated by a more loyal stance of the US government towards digital assets and growing institutional interest from JPMorgan, BlackRock, and Fidelity.

A16z emphasizes that the crypto market is increasingly integrating with traditional financial systems. The demand for specialists is expanding beyond developers — the need for compliance, infrastructure, and product management specialists is growing rapidly.

At the same time, the report draws attention to the contrast between the centralization of the AI market — where OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google control most of the revenue and cloud capacity — and the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies. A16z believes that blockchain can become a counterweight to monopolization in artificial intelligence by providing openness, transparency, and autonomous interactions between AI agents.