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Outlet profile

The Block

U.S. crypto-industry trade media

Owned byMajority-owned (approximately 80%) by Foresight Ventures, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency venture capital firm affiliated with the Bitget exchange; CEO is Larry Cermak, with Foresight CEO Forest Bai serving as Chairman
FundingCombination of advertising, subscription services, and institutional research products; was seeking $10–15 million in fresh investment capital as of early 2025 after revenue fell by more than half following the 2022 Alameda Research funding scandal
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The Block was founded in March 2018 by Mike Dudas and Jake McGraw as an independent newsroom covering crypto and blockchain. It raised roughly $4 million from venture capital backers including Greycroft, Pantera Capital, BlockTower Capital, and Bloomberg Beta. In 2020, Dudas stepped down and Michael McCaffrey became CEO. In April 2021, McCaffrey quietly bought out all outside shareholders using an undisclosed $12 million loan from Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda Research; a second loan brought the total to approximately $43 million. The arrangement came to light in December 2022 when Alameda collapsed alongside FTX, and McCaffrey resigned. The scandal severely damaged The Block's credibility and cut its revenue by more than half between 2022 and 2024. In November 2023, Singapore-based Foresight Ventures purchased an approximately 80 percent stake at a $70 million valuation, using most of the capital to buy out McCaffrey's shares and sever the outlet's remaining ties to the Bankman-Fried era. As of early 2025, the outlet was still working to rebuild its research and subscription businesses amid growing competition in crypto media. The Block maintains an editorial firewall policy between its newsroom and commercial operations, though its ownership by a crypto-focused investment fund raises inherent questions about independence.

Sources

  1. Crypto News Site The Block Bought by Foresight Ventures in $70M Deal — CoinDesk
  2. Exclusive: SBF secretly funded crypto news site — Axios
  3. Scoop: The Block hunts for cash following funding scandal — Axios
  4. Singaporean VC firm Foresight Ventures buys 80% stake in The Block — CryptoSlate
  5. The Block (website) — Wikipedia
  6. About The Block — theblock.co

Profile compiled 2026-09-05; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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