Blockworks bets on Messari in high-stakes crypto data race

Blockworks has acquired Messari after securing a $192 million valuation earlier this year, deepening its push into crypto data infrastructure as competition intensifies to build the industry’s information layer.

According to an announcement from Blockworks, the deal combines two of the largest crypto information businesses and represents the company’s first major acquisition since completing a Series A extension financing round that valued it at $192 million.

Messari brings coverage of more than 40,000 crypto assets to the transaction. The company has spent eight years building data products covering markets, exchanges, stablecoins, protocols, token unlocks, fundraising activity, research, social sentiment, event monitoring, and other market segments. Blockworks said Messari’s API has become widely used by funds, exchanges, developers, and other institutional participants.

Earlier this year, crypto.news reported that Blockworks had raised fresh capital while repositioning itself from a media-focused company into a provider of institutional-grade data and intelligence services. The company shut down its flagship news division in October 2025 and redirected resources toward Blockworks Intelligence and its proprietary data platform.

The deal links issuers with institutional users

Alongside the acquisition, Blockworks described plans to connect crypto asset issuers with investors, exchanges, regulators, platforms, and other market participants through a unified data and disclosure system.

Blockworks said its existing products focus on the issuer side of the market through tools such as the Token Transparency Framework, investor relations services, research products, and institutional distribution. Messari, meanwhile, has built products used by funds, custodians, brokerages, fintech firms, regulators, exchanges, and developers seeking market intelligence and data access.

Commenting on the transaction, Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz said the acquisition connects issuers and investors through a shared information network.

“Issuers maintain a trusted record of their business, and investors, exchanges, regulators, and investors consume that record through research, APIs, and automated workflows.”

As described by the company, the combined platform is intended to provide standardized disclosures, ratings, research, investor relations tools, market data, monitoring systems, compliance workflows, and diligence infrastructure for participants operating in onchain capital markets.

AI demand becomes part of the investment thesis

Beyond combining products, Blockworks tied the acquisition to its view that crypto’s information sector will consolidate around a smaller group of dominant data providers.

Drawing comparisons with established financial information companies such as S&P Global, Moody’s, FactSet, and Bloomberg, Blockworks argued that crypto still lacks the disclosure, ratings, benchmark, and workflow infrastructure that support traditional capital markets.

Yanowitz also said artificial intelligence could increase demand for crypto market data rather than reduce it. According to the executive, digital assets already generate structured and real-time information that can be consumed directly by automated systems, creating opportunities for platforms that combine issuer disclosures, market intelligence, onchain activity, and AI-focused workflows.

Messari CEO Diran Li said both companies have spent years working to improve transparency and structure across crypto markets.

“Coming together allows us to pursue that shared vision more efficiently and build a stronger platform for the customers, investors, and institutions moving onchain.”

For existing customers, Blockworks said Messari’s products and data coverage will continue operating after the acquisition. Product development will focus on expanding data coverage, strengthening APIs, improving investor relations software, enhancing monitoring and compliance tools, and delivering more research and ratings capabilities across the combined platform.