Crypto startup Blockworks plans to use the proceeds from its previously unreported fundraise to scoop up some of its rivals and become a kind of Morningstar for digital assets, co-founder Jason Yanowitz told CNBC.
The company aims to build out its crypto-focused data platform for traders of on-chain assets, which include cryptocurrencies as well as digital representations of equities, commodities and real-world assets that live on blockchains. Its goal is to serve as a destination for the kind of high-quality tools that have long benefited traders of stocks and bonds but have so far eluded their crypto counterparts.
“We’re so behind on data and research and information [for digital assets],” Yanowitz said. “In traditional finance you have Morningstar … but also like FactSet ... and Moody’s and S&P Global Research.
“Those don’t exist yet for assets that are coming onto [the blockchain],” he added.
To realize that vision, the firm plans to scoop up a few of its competitors with the proceeds from its Series A extension round that closed earlier this year. Co-led by ParaFi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures with support from Coinbase’s venture capital arm, the extension round valued Blockworks at $192 million.
