Blockworks, a prominent cryptocurrency media company founded in 2017, announced the closure of its news division, which it had launched in 2021.
This move involves laying off the journalism team and marks a significant shift in the company’s focus toward its higher-margin data, analytics, and software products, which have seen rapid growth over the past two years.
Co-founder Jason Yanowitz shared the news via a post on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that the decision aligns with evolving market demands where real-time data platforms and institutional research are increasingly preferred over traditional news reporting.
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Yanowitz noted that Blockworks achieved record revenues in 2025 and anticipates another strong year in 2026, driven largely by its data business. He described the pivot as betting on “the greatest opportunity we’ve seen since launching,” while acknowledging the challenges in sustaining editorial operations reliant on sponsorships and events.
The company will continue its newsletters, podcasts, and major events like the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) and Permissionless conferences, with DAS scheduled for Abu Dhabi in 2026.
The newsroom closure affects the editorial team, including reporters who had broken major stories cited by outlets like Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal.
Yanowitz publicly encouraged other organizations to hire the affected talent, and figures like Akshay BD from the Solana Foundation expressed interest in doing so.
This reflects ongoing turbulence in crypto media, where advertising and reader engagement fluctuate with market cycles. Blockworks, which raised $12 million at a $135 million valuation in 2023 from investors like 10T Holdings and Framework Ventures, is not alone—similar pressures have hit other outlets.
The shutdown was first reported by crypto newsletter Unfolded and quickly amplified across social media. The announcement sparked mixed responses on X and in crypto circles. Many praised the focus on sustainable models, with one user noting it positions Blockworks as a “true data destination” for professionals.
Industry leaders like Monad co-founder Keone Hon lamented the reduction in “unbiased, competent, crypto-native newsrooms,” calling them essential public goods for mainstream adoption.
Others echoed worries about the future of specialized reporting in a sector prone to misinformation. Separately, DeFiLlama’s founder accused Blockworks of reselling free DeFiLlama data on a paid platform for $4,500/year, highlighting tensions in the data ecosystem amid the pivot.
Blockworks’ data model centers on a centralized, validated data warehouse that aggregates, normalizes, and enriches raw on-chain and off-chain cryptocurrency data to deliver actionable insights for investors, protocols, and institutions.
Launched as part of Blockworks Research priced at $4,500/year for full access, it emphasizes transparency, real-time accuracy, and proprietary modeling over fragmented free sources. The pivot to this model in 2025 underscores its role as a high-margin, recurring revenue driver, transforming Blockworks into a data-first intelligence platform.
Raw data is pulled directly from blockchains via node-level inputs and indexers, APIs, and external feeds like TradFi cash flows. This includes on-chain metrics via transactions, wallet activity and off-chain signals like governance proposals, market sentiment.
Proprietary models validate, standardize, and cross-validate data for integrity. For instance, “Network REV” calculates economic throughput by filtering non-spam transactions and adjusting for fee burns, providing a more accurate view of network health than raw fees.
A unified warehouse enables time-series data, sector comparisons, and protocol-specific breakdowns. Data is organized into hierarchical categories like financials, on-chain activity, and supply dynamics, with daily refreshes for near real-time use.
This development underscores the maturation of crypto media, where bootstrapped players like Blockworks which started without venture funding adapt to prioritize recurring revenue over ad-dependent news.