Messari, which offers Bloomberg Terminal-style reports and data on crypto, raised a $35M Series B led by Brevan Howard Digital
Not bad for a Two Bit Idiot. The “idiot” in question is Ryan Selkis, who uses the tongue-in-cheek monicker for his popular Twitter account …
Context & Ripple Effects
Messari's $35M Series B, led by Brevan Howard Digital, builds on the $21M Series A Point72 Ventures led just over a year earlier, when Kraken Ventures, Gemini Frontier Fund, and Coinbase joined the cap table. The telling shift is the lead: a traditional hedge fund's digital arm, not a crypto-exchange affiliate, is now paying for the Bloomberg Terminal-style reports and data business.
The round lands weeks after Mysten Labs reportedly entered talks for a $200M+ Series B at a $2B valuation, evidence that large checks were still clearing for crypto infrastructure even as token markets fell. It also deepens dependence on Ryan Selkis, whose 'Two Bit Idiot' persona and popular account are the company's distribution engine as much as its product is.
First-order effects
- Messari gains extended runway to scale its subscription reports and data products through the downturn, now anchored by institutional money rather than only exchange-affiliated investors.
- Brevan Howard Digital secures early position in crypto market data — the analytics layer a hedge fund would want before committing its own trading capital.
Second-order effects
- Competing crypto data and index businesses must differentiate on depth rather than price: Bitwise's parallel $70M Series B shows the entire crypto-data and index layer was being capitalized at once, crowding the institutional-subscription niche.
- The blended cap table — Kraken, Gemini, and Coinbase alongside a hedge fund lead — aligns Messari's research with both the venues and the allocators, raising the bar for neutral third-party coverage.
Third-order effects
- If the funding pattern holds, crypto research consolidates around terminal-style incumbents selling institutional subscriptions — replicating the data-moat economics that made Bloomberg's terminal business durable.
- Personality-led distribution carries structural key-person risk: Selkis later stepped down as CEO after controversial political posts, handing leadership to Chief Revenue Officer Eric Turner — a reminder that founder-brand go-to-market can become a governance liability.
The trend: Traditional-finance capital is funding the terminalization of crypto market data, converting newsletter-era research brands into institutional subscription businesses.