Investor Relations in the Onchain Era

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Blockworks introduces Blockworks IR, a crypto-native investor relations platform designed to solve a trust and information gap in token markets. The transcript argues that despite strong industry growth, token prices and fundamentals have decoupled due to too many assets, poor disclosures, and lack of standardized reporting. The solution: transparent, data-driven IR tools built for on-chain businesses and investors.

Main Topics: Launch of Blockworks Investor Relations (Priority: 5/5): Blockworks announces a new IR product combining analytics, branded investor portals, advisory support, and workflow tools to help protocols communicate with investors more effectively. Token market underperformance despite industry growth (Priority: 5/5): The speaker contrasts booming crypto infrastructure and institutional adoption with weak token performance, arguing that the token market has not benefited proportionally from the broader bull market. Trust problem driven by information gaps (Priority: 5/5): The core issue is framed as a trust deficit caused by missing data, lack of disclosures, and no standardized investor reporting, leaving investors unable to properly evaluate tokens. Market structure problems: too many tokens and weak value accrual (Priority: 4/5): The transcript argues that excessive token creation fragments liquidity and that many projects fail to clearly translate network activity into token value accrual. Crypto IR should differ from TradFi IR (Priority: 4/5): Rather than copying public-company IR, crypto should use real-time on-chain data, more engaging formats, and proactive investor engagement to create a better model. Future of IR as an intelligence and engagement layer (Priority: 4/5): Blockworks positions its platform as evolving from a data portal into an intelligence system with engagement analytics and eventually an AI/agent-driven IR assistant. Early adoption and industry signaling (Priority: 3/5): The platform is launched with BNB and JITO as inaugural clients, signaling that leading protocols are already embracing more transparent investor communications.

Key Arguments: Institutional adoption and broader crypto growth have not translated into strong token performance, so the market narrative is incomplete. The average token has performed poorly over the last several years because supply has expanded rapidly while prices have lagged. Token fundamentals can be strong, but without standardized disclosure and reporting, investors cannot trust or interpret them. The root cause of weak token performance is not just market structure; it is an information problem that undermines confidence. Public-market IR provides useful standards, but crypto should go further by leveraging real-time on-chain data and lower-overhead digital workflows. Blockworks IR aims to reduce redundant diligence for investors while helping protocols present a credible, unified story. The future of IR in crypto will be proactive, measurable, and engagement-driven rather than defensive and compliance-only.

Data Points: New tokens created: ~35 million - The speaker says the number of tokens in existence has increased by about 35 million over the last few years. Average token price decline: ~80% down - The average price of the average token is described as down about 80%. Average token market cap decline: ~50% down from 2021 - The average market cap of a token is said to be down about 50% from 2021 levels. On-chain revenue vs. price relationship: Broke in 2025 - The speaker says the historical relationship between on-chain revenue and token price broke in 2025. Public companies decline: About half of what it used to be - The number of public companies in the U.S. is said to be about half of prior levels over the last 20 years. Annual public-company compliance cost: ~$2.2 million per year - The speaker cites auditing and compliance-related costs for public companies. Investor relations agent cost: $50,000 per month (example) - Used as an example of what companies may pay external IR firms today. On-chain operating and financial history: ~90% live and transparent - The speaker claims most protocols have about 90% of their operating and financial history visible on-chain.

Pivotal Quotes: "The institutional bull market is here. It is real. And it also has not come for your tokens." — Michael Ippolito: Used to frame the disconnect between crypto industry growth and token price performance. "In one word, we have a trust problem." — Michael Ippolito: The central diagnosis for why token markets are underperforming despite strong fundamentals. "We can be even better than what exists today." — Michael Ippolito: The speaker argues crypto IR should surpass traditional public-market IR, not merely imitate it.

Implications: Protocols will need standardized, transparent, and engaging investor communications to win trust and capital. Crypto IR may become a strategic growth function, with on-chain data, analytics, and AI-driven tools replacing ad hoc, compliance-only reporting.