A heated dispute erupted in the crypto data community after DeFiLlama founder 0xngmi accused Blockworks of reselling DeFiLlama’s free data through a paid analytics platform reportedly priced at $4,500 per year. The accusation surfaced on X just hours after Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz announced the company would shut down its news division and transition entirely into a software and data organization.
Yanowitz, in his announcement, reflected on Blockworks’ journey since its founding in 2017, describing how the company evolved from a crypto media startup into a full-scale data-driven enterprise. He noted that 2025 marked a record revenue year, with expectations for even stronger growth in 2026, especially within the data and analytics division.
He emphasized that both investors and crypto protocols depend on the company’s data products daily and described this pivot as a strategic focus on their most successful business line. Yanowitz confirmed that while Blockworks News will cease operations, the organization will continue to run its newsletters, podcasts, and events, including the upcoming DAS conference in Abu Dhabi.
DeFiLlama Challenges Blockworks’ Use of Its Data
Following Yanowitz’s announcement, 0xngmi publicly accused Blockworks of violating DeFiLlama’s Terms of Service by reselling its free data without authorization. Sharing a screenshot allegedly from Blockworks’ paid dashboard, 0xngmi wrote:
Blockworks becoming a data-first org is cool, but you guys could start by not reselling our free data for $4.5k per year against our Terms of Service, even after telling us you had removed all our data when we asked.
Dan Smith, Blockworks’ Head of Data, responded on X, claiming the displayed charts were outdated and that DeFiLlama’s data had been removed months earlier following a ToS change. Smith explained that the issue stemmed from an internal dashboard glitch showing old charts that were no longer in use.
However, 0xngmi disputed the explanation, stating that the data shown in the screenshot included October 2025 figures, contradicting Smith’s claim. The back-and-forth gained widespread attention, with DeFiLlama’s posts receiving significantly higher engagement, signaling community support for 0xngmi’s position.
Community Reacts to Blockworks Layoffs and Timing
Meanwhile, the timing of the controversy coincided with backlash over Blockworks’ decision to lay off its newsroom staff. Many in the crypto community criticized the tone of Yanowitz’s announcement, noting that he led with “record revenues” before addressing the layoffs.
Martyna MBL, Senior Director at Serotonin, commented:
This is a pretty tone-deaf way to communicate major layoffs, especially while leading with record revenue and massive growth. It’s not just optics—it’s about respect.
Critics emphasized that the Blockworks newsroom played a major role in building the company’s reputation during the formative years of the crypto industry. Several community members expressed frustration that the journalists who contributed to the brand’s credibility were being sidelined during its transition to a purely data-oriented business.
Adding to the tension, the DeFiLlama incident further complicated Blockworks’ rebranding efforts, as the company was accused of mishandling another project’s data on the very day it sought to establish itself as a leading data provider.
As of now, neither party has issued a formal statement beyond the X thread, leaving the dispute unresolved and the community watching closely for further developments.