Blockworks Loses Seven Staff Including Founding Research Member as Products Take Priority

Blockworks has seen at least seven staff members announce their departures across October and November 2026, including founding research team member Westie, as the crypto data company prioritizes product development. crypto.news reported the departures, which include Jake Koch-Gallup, Nick Carpinito, Kunal Doshi, Silvio Busonero, Nikhil and AJC.

Blockworks Departures Span Research and Product

The departure posts were shared on X and span several weeks. Nikhil's post is dated October 19, 2026, while Westie and Doshi posted on November 5, followed by Koch-Gallup and Carpinito on November 6. Several described the week as their last at the company without giving an exact departure date.

Westie said he was part of the founding cohort of the research team before building and scaling its data operation, with his work later expanding into products that he said had become the company's primary focus this year and beyond. Koch-Gallup, who spent two years at Messari and another six months at Blockworks following the acquisition, wrote: "It's sad to see one of the leading crypto research firms shift its focus away from research." He said independent research remained valuable, particularly as AI made original human thinking and analysis increasingly important.

Carpinito said he joined in early 2025 and watched Blockworks acquire Messari, launch a new product suite and develop the Token Transparency Framework, which he described as progressing from an idea into a disclosure standard reaching Bloomberg terminals. AJC said his departure followed four years at Messari and six months at Blockworks, and planned to rest before deciding what to do next. The posts did not describe a coordinated resignation or identify a shared reason for leaving.

Blockworks MCP Access and Messari Deal

According to akta.pro company records, Blockworks acquired Messari in June 2026 for more than $10 million, adding coverage of more than 40,000 digital assets. The same records show Blockworks closed a Series A extension in April 2026 at a $192 million valuation, a 42% step-up from the 2023 $135 million mark, co-led by ParaFi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures.

The departures coincided with an expansion of access to the company's AI data service. In its November 3 announcement, Blockworks said anyone could connect its data to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP client, with new accounts receiving $100 in credits. The service had already launched for API customers on October 1.

Earlier Blockworks Product and Policy Moves

Blockworks launched a server integrating market data for over 40,000 digital assets with AI assistants including ChatGPT and Claude via the Model Context Protocol, CoinMarketCap reported on October 1, 2026. The Unified API aggregates data from 300+ exchanges and 400+ DeFi protocols.

Blockworks filed a comment letter with the SEC on October 20, 2026, urging formal recognition of a Qualified Onchain Disclosure Agent to automate token disclosures, Crypto Briefing reported. On November 4, 2026, FinancialContent Business Page reported that Blockworks will host its sixth Digital Asset Summit London at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Final 0xResearch Edition

On November 6, 2026, Blockworks published a newsletter titled "Signing off", identifying it as the final edition of 0xResearch.