Get ready for a revolution. Crypto is on the verge of transforming finance, just like the internet revolutionized information.
“There’s a lot of good that’s bound to come to the world once we break the walled gardens of finance,” said Jason Yanowitz, the co-founder at Blockworks, the media brand that’s driving forward the most important conversations in crypto.
In anticipation of crypto becoming the underlying technology of the entire financial market and the largest asset class in the world, Blockworks’ team — led by Yanowitz and co-founder Michael Ippolito — raised $12 million at a $135 million valuation.
This round puts the company in a stronger position to expand and compete with the likes of Wall Street Journal. Yanowitz explained that, unlike other media companies, his team is not using the money to buy trust; instead, they are using it to build products at the bottom of the funnel.
Yanowitz’s unconventional leadership tactics date back to 2017. While visiting Hungary, a region historically plagued by tyranny, he wanted to learn more about self-sovereign money like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) but could not find good sources.
With aims to mend these information asymmetries, Yanowitz co-founded Blockworks in 2018. The startup initially focused on hosting conferences before moving into digital media. This is opposite to how media companies are traditionally built, Yanowitz explained, noting that the first events they hosted were happy hours for the institutional and crypto crowds.
Eventually, Blockworks launched its Digital Asset Summit, one of the few crypto events where attendees still adhere to formal dress codes.
“The podcast network was our first step into digital media, and when the pandemic happened, we realized we needed to double down on the media side of the business to address certain gaps. We added reporters from Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Wall Street Journal to help us create a world-class media company, launching the new media site in 2021.”
The newsletter and podcast businesses, as well as partnerships with the likes of Bankless, resulted in Blockworks’ exponential growth throughout 2021. In anticipation of a broader slowdown heading into 2022, Yanowitz’s team began building a platform for professional users.
“We don’t want 100 million people to read Blockworks. We aim to reach a million of the most influential crypto executives and investors globally,” Yanowitz said, noting he is willing to sacrifice page views and attendance at conferences to fulfill Blockworks’ mission.
“Good content will win out in the long term,” he says. “We’re playing a very long-term game.”
Produced in association with Benzinga
