Blockworks Snaps Up Messari for Over $10M in Crypto Data Sector Merger
The deal comes on the heels of executive restructuring and workforce reductions at Messari, bringing one of the cryptocurrency industry's most prominent data and analytics platforms under Blockworks' expanding research operations.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Blockworks, a cryptocurrency data and media enterprise, has completed the acquisition of analytics company Messari in a transaction valued at more than $10 million.
Backed by notable investors such as Brevan Howard Digital and Point72 Ventures, Messari operates as a cryptocurrency research and analytics platform. During its Series B financing round in 2022, the firm successfully raised $35 million at an approximate valuation of $300 million.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the significant valuation markdown mirrors both Messari's operational challenges in recent months and the more widespread downturn affecting the cryptocurrency industry at large.
In a restructuring move earlier this year, Messari brought in Diran Li as CEO to replace Eric Turner, while simultaneously cutting its workforce as the company pivoted its strategic focus toward artificial intelligence technologies. Announcing the leadership transition via LinkedIn, Li acknowledged that the organization had "parted ways with many teammates" during its transformation into an "AI-first company."
Established in 2018, Blockworks initially launched as a cryptocurrency media and events organization before broadening its scope to include research and data product offerings. The company disclosed in April that it had completed a Series A extension round, achieving a valuation of $192 million.
Through a blog post unveiling the acquisition, Blockworks highlighted that Messari delivers data coverage spanning more than 40,000 digital assets while maintaining an API platform utilized by investors, cryptocurrency exchanges and software developers. According to the company, merging the two businesses will broaden its capabilities in market data, research analysis, compliance services and investor-relations solutions.
Via a statement posted on X, Messari assured stakeholders that current users would maintain continuous access to the platform's enterprise services and API infrastructure after the transaction closes.
M&A activity reshapes crypto intelligence sector
The merger between Blockworks and Messari arrives during an accelerating consolidation trend sweeping through cryptocurrency data, research and media organizations.
Just weeks ago, Kaiko, a Paris-headquartered crypto data company, completed its purchase of Amberdata, a digital asset data provider based in the United States, in an effort to broaden its suite of derivatives analytics, onchain data and AI-driven research capabilities.
According to Kaiko, the transaction will strengthen its ability to serve institutional clientele including banking institutions, asset management firms, hedge funds and trading exchanges, while incorporating Amberdata's derivatives analytics capabilities and options data solutions. The firm characterized the deal as an element of its wider consolidation strategy for institutional-grade cryptocurrency market data and analytical tools.
Back in January, blockchain oracle service provider RedStone completed the acquisition of Security Token Market along with its TokenizeThis conference, obtaining a comprehensive dataset that encompasses more than 800 tokenized assets spanning equities, real estate holdings, debt instruments and investment funds as it broadened its institutional data portfolio.
Several months thereafter, the Jito Foundation purchased SolanaFloor, a news, research and analytics outlet focused on Solana, following its closure in the aftermath of a $40 million treasury wallet security breach at its parent organization Step Finance. Through the acquisition, the publication was brought back online with its editorial staff remaining intact.