Blockworks, the New York-based crypto data and investor relations platform, has acquired rival Messari in a deal that underscores the growing consolidation pressures reshaping the digital asset industry — and the steep valuations facing once-flying crypto startups.
The acquisition brings together two of the industry’s largest crypto information companies. Founded in 2018, Messari built a comprehensive data platform covering more than 40,000 digital assets, along with APIs, market intelligence, research tools and AI-powered workflows used by funds, exchanges, regulators and developers.
Also founded in 2018, Blockworks has focused on the issuer side of the crypto capital markets, offering standardized information through its Token Transparency Framework and a full-stack investor relations platform for onchain assets.
Blockworks paid more than $10 million for Messari — a steep discount from Messari’s roughly $300 million valuation when it raised a $35 million Series B led by Brevan Howard’s crypto arm in 2022, with Point72 Ventures also among its backers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The markdown reflects both Messari’s recent difficulties — including the departure of co-founder and longtime CEO Ryan Selkis in 2024 and subsequent staff reductions — and broader headwinds gripping the crypto sector.
“This acquisition connects the two sides of the market,” said Jason Yanowitz, co-founder of Blockworks. “Issuers maintain a reliable record of their business, and investors, exchanges and regulators use this record through research, APIs and automated workflows.”
Blockworks travels to consolidate the fragmented crypto data market
The deal was funded in part through Blockworks’ recently closed Series A expansion, which valued the company at $192 million. The round was led by ParaFi and Reciprocal Ventures and included participation from Coinbase Ventures, among others.
Blockworks said it raised capital specifically to consolidate crypto’s fragmented data and information market, drawing comparisons to how Wall Street’s information layers eventually coalesced around dominant platforms like Bloomberg, FactSet and S&P Global.
Messari CEO Diran Li, who took over after Selkis’ departure and had repositioned the firm as an “AI-first company,” will join Blockworks as a senior executive under co-founders Yanowitz and Michael Ippolito.
The deal comes as crypto M&A activity remains high despite challenging market conditions. Crypto companies have completed 144 deals totaling $11.8 billion in transaction value so far in 2026 — an increase of about 3.5% over the same period last year — according to data from consulting firm Architect Partners.
Still, Eric Risley, founder of Architect Partners, warned that continued pressure on trading volumes and token prices could force more distressed selling. “We’re in the midst of creating the haves and have-nots,” Risley said per WSJ.
Both Blockworks and Messari executives said the combined platform would prioritize deeper data coverage, stronger APIs, improved compliance workflows and AI-native research tools as digital assets increasingly migrate onchain.