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Blockworks, a New York-based entity focused on crypto data and investor relations, has taken over its competitor Messari. This transaction highlights the increasing consolidation within the digital asset sector and the significant valuation adjustments affecting previously booming crypto startups.
This acquisition unites two of the most prominent crypto information providers in the industry. Messari, established in 2018, developed an extensive data platform that encompasses over 40,000 digital assets. It also offers APIs, market insights, research tools, and AI-driven operational processes utilized by funds, exchanges, regulatory bodies, and developers.
Blockworks, also founded in 2018, has concentrated on the issuance side of crypto capital markets. It provides standardized disclosures through its Token Transparency Framework and a comprehensive investor relations platform tailored for on-chain assets.
Blockworks purchased Messari for over $10 million. This represents a substantial reduction from Messari’s estimated $300 million valuation during its 2022 Series B funding round, which secured $35 million and was spearheaded by the crypto division of Brevan Howard, with Point72 Ventures also participating, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
This price adjustment reflects not only Messari’s recent challenges, such as the departure of co-founder and long-time CEO Ryan Selkis in 2024 and subsequent workforce reductions, but also the broader difficulties confronting the cryptocurrency space.
“This purchase links the two facets of the market,” stated Jason Yanowitz, co-founder of Blockworks. “Issuers maintain a reliable record of their operations, and investors, exchanges, and regulators access that record through research, APIs, and automated workflows.”
Blockworks secures funding to unify a fragmented crypto data landscape
The transaction was partly financed by Blockworks’ recently concluded Series A extension, which valued the company at $192 million. This funding round was jointly led by ParaFi and Reciprocal Ventures, with contributions from entities including Coinbase Ventures.
Blockworks announced that it raised capital with the specific objective of consolidating the dispersed data and information market in the crypto sphere. This move draws parallels to the eventual consolidation of Wall Street’s information infrastructure around leading providers such as Bloomberg, FactSet, and S&P Global.
Diran Li, the current CEO of Messari who assumed the role after Selkis’s exit and had been steering the company towards becoming an “AI-first company,” will be taking on a senior leadership position at Blockworks, reporting to co-founders Yanowitz and Michael Ippolito.
This acquisition occurs amidst a backdrop of continued high levels of M&A activity in the crypto sector, despite prevailing market challenges. According to data from advisory firm Architect Partners, crypto companies have completed 144 deals totaling $11.8 billion in transaction value year-to-date in 2026, marking an increase of approximately 3.5% compared to the same period last year.
Nonetheless, Eric Risley, founder of Architect Partners, cautioned that persistent pressure on trading volumes and token prices might compel further distressed asset sales. “We are currently witnessing the emergence of the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,’” Risley remarked, as quoted by the WSJ.
Executives from both Blockworks and Messari indicated that the merged entity will prioritize enhanced data coverage, more robust APIs, improved compliance procedures, and AI-driven research capabilities as digital assets increasingly transition onto the blockchain.
Information compiled from materials : bitcoinmagazine.com