The acquisition of Messari by Blockworks represents a strategic consolidation in the crypto data space. It merges Blockworks' 'deep' research model with Messari's 'broad' data aggregation strategy, aiming to create a comprehensive 'Bloomberg for crypto' that serves a wider range of institutional and enterprise clients.
A core argument is that crypto's growth is stalled by a fundamental lack of trust, caused by non-standardized data, inadequate disclosures, and founders overstating metrics. The speakers contend that the industry's failure to self-regulate is an existential threat that must be addressed to attract serious capital.
The speakers identify the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) like stocks, bonds, and currencies as the single most important trend in crypto. This marks a shift from speculative tokens to rebuilding traditional capital markets on the more efficient rails of public blockchains.
Blockworks outlines a three-layer strategy to rebuild trust and facilitate institutional adoption. This stack includes a disclosure layer for issuers, a standardized data layer for reliable analytics, and a workflow layer with tools for monitoring and compliance for financial institutions.
The speakers predict that AI will be a transformative force when combined with standardized on-chain data. They envision a future where LLMs can query live datasets for investor relations, automate credit scoring for on-chain assets, and power AI agents, which are already a fast-growing customer segment.
Keep pulling the thread on Ryan Selkis.